Saving Roza
by LeftyGeek
Summary: At the end of Shadow Kiss, Dimitri wasn't turned into a Strigoi. Rose was. Now Dimitri must face the task of hunting her down to keep the promise they made to one another and free her soul. Dimitri's POV. *NOW COMPLETE!* Look for the sequel, Exiled, coming soon!
1. Prologue

Prologue

_ Her eyes met mine in the briefest of glances. It was all we could afford given the current circumstances, but she spoke volumes to me in a fraction of a second. Roza. My heart ached for her. Part of me wanted so badly to reach out and take her hand, to comfort her, but that was out of the question right now, for more reasons than I had time to rationalize. We were in full-fledged battle mode. Rose didn't need comforting. Hell, she'd been lethal in the last twelve hours. I don't think I would have been able to battle Strigoi like that at her age. _

_ I could see the light from the sun pouring into the entrance of the cave where we'd just battled an entire group of Strigoi who had captured both dhampirs and Moroi from the academy. We'd rescued some, and we'd lost some others. There hadn't been time to count casualties. I was confident we'd made enough rescues and killed enough Strigoi to label the mission a success. Now we were only a few yards from safety, but this was no time to let our guard down yet. _

_ Guardian training had taught me to always keep my attention on my surroundings, no matter how many other thoughts I had on my mind. That's why, within a fraction of a second of feeling movement behind us, I whipped around, stake ready, to take on our attackers. _

_ I was met with a sharp blow to the side of the head. I faltered for only a millisecond, before leaping back towards the Strigoi, taking a shot at its heart. It managed to block me, but I swung around and grazed the side of its face with my stake, hoping to distract it momentarily._

_ "Keep moving!" I cried out to the others, never taking my eyes off of my attacker. I felt a burst of rage within me for all the death and destruction these Strigoi had caused, and almost effortlessly I pierced the Strigoi's heart with my stake. It crumpled to the ground, and without missing a beat I ripped the stake back out, ready to take down the next. To my right I saw another Strigoi snap a dhampir student's neck. Rage burned through me. I staked that Strigoi faster than the first. _

_ Behind me, I could still hear the sounds of another fight. I spun around faster than a streak of lightening, but I was too late. In that moment, my world halted to slow motion, forcing me to watch, unable to move, as that sick, undead creature sucked the blood from her neck. My Roza, lying on the ground, helpless, broken, her eyes glazed over, her face twisted in horror. _

_ I let out a cry, so animalistic I didn't even recognize myself. I leapt towards her. She wasn't more than three yards away from me. But I was met with the resistance of strong arms. _

_ "Belikov, we need to get out. It's too late for her." Two sets of guardian's arms were around my torso, pulling me from the scene. I surrendered to them, immobilized by pain. My eyes lingered on her lifeless body until I could no longer see her anymore…_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I felt like I had barely slept ten minutes when my alarm clock interrupted with its obnoxious beep. I reached over and slammed my fist down on the snooze button. I blinked my bleary eyes a few times, trying to erase the image that had been ingrained so clearly in my mind. As usual, it didn't work. I still saw her, crumpled, lifeless on the ground, that agonizing look etched on her face. How? How could I have allowed this to happen to her?

I'd seen more death in my short life than many ever do. I'd learned to cope well. I'd come to terms with the fact that these things happen. It is a sacrifice that we make as dhampirs in order to protect the Moroi. They come first. I knew this. Rose knew this. She'd adhered to that motto more strictly than most dhampirs I'd ever known. Wise beyond her years, my Roza. She'd had so much potential, so much drive, so much passion… I brushed away a tear that was running down my cheek.

Three days ago I'd made love to her. Every detail of that beautiful night was forever etched into my memory, and, as painful as it was, I would never let it go. I would be forever grateful for that one time we had been together. At least I had had one opportunity to show her how much she meant to me. I'd spent so much of the time I'd known her trying to fight it, trying to hold back. But I'd loved her so much. She had completed me. Now I would never know that feeling of completion again. More tears rolled down my face. I didn't bother wiping them away this time. I buried my face in my pillow.

_Composure, Belikov. Pull yourself together. People need you_, I told myself. Ignoring the pounding in my head, I dragged myself to my feet. I shuffled through a shower on autopilot. The academy needed guardians for strength right now. The student body was suffering. I wasn't the only one who had lost a loved one in the past few days. Even Janine Hathaway, Rose's mother, seemed to be holding up better than I was. Although I had definitely seen pain in her eyes, she maintained her rational composure at all times.

Vasilisa, on the other hand, had not. In the moments when I wasn't reliving the scene of Roses' lifeless body lying on the ground, I was plagued by visions of Vasilisa's face, her green eyes electric with frenzy, with pain. She sobbed and screamed, and completely broke down. When I looked at her, I saw my inner emotions manifested. She freely expressed what I fought so hard to hold within. Not a single soul knew the love that Rose and I had shared. Well, I suppose Victor Dashkov did, but he counted for nothing in my eyes anyway.

"I'm so sorry, Princess Dragomir," I'd whispered to Vasilisa when we returned to the edge of the school grounds, Rose's absence clearly evident. She'd looked so troubled, I think she already knew. After all, they'd had the bond. Rose always said it only worked one way and that Vasilisa couldn't feel Rose's thoughts the way that Rose could feel hers. But I still think that Vasilisa must've felt something.

"I can save her! I can save her! We have to go back!" Vasilisa wailed. She clung to my arm, pulling on it like a child. She even tried to compel me, which might've worked if she hadn't been too distraught to focus properly. Vasilisa was normally so calm and composed. I guess losing Rose was the one thing that could break her. I could certainly relate.

"Princess." I fought to keep my voice from cracking. In my head, I had briefly entertained the idea of Vasilisa saving Rose. But I knew it wasn't possible. "I'm so sorry, but it isn't safe. It's dark now, and the Strigoi could be anywhere. Besides, I think that it happened too long ago." I allowed her to cling to me as she continued to sob, her words becoming jumbled and indecipherable. It was difficult for me not to offer her more comfort. I wanted to let her know that I shared in her pain. But there were a thousand reasons why I couldn't.

Christian stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders as she slowly crumpled to the ground, her hands still wrapped around my forearm.

"Lissa," he said gently. "Lissa, I'm sure Guardian Belikov has other things he needs to do. Come on, sweetheart." Reluctantly, Vasilisa let go of me, curling into a ball on the ground. Christian was immediately next to her, trying to offer comfort in any way he knew how. I had to get away from them. It was too painful to watch.

I strayed from the group who had been awaiting our return, lingering a few yards away. It was normal guardian behavior. I needed something to make me feel normal. But I wasn't the only one watching in the shadows.

"She's dead, isn't she?" A male voice spoke. With my dhampir eyesight I could make out his green eyes in the growing darkness. Adrian Ivashkov. I didn't need to ask who he was talking about. Everyone knew that Adrian had feelings for Rose. I felt sorry for him when I confirmed his suspicions.

"Yes," I replied solemnly, not knowing what else to say. I pressed my lips tightly together, and avoided looking at his eyes. So many people were pained at the loss of Rose, because she'd been so amazing. How could we all go on, knowing that we'd never see her again? How could I go on? Lost in own thoughts, I hadn't paid much attention to Adrian.

"You bastard!" he cried out, his response delayed, as though the weight of my conformation had taken a moment to sink in. "You should have protected her!" He was inches from my face, shouting at me. He was wise enough, though, not to strike me. I guess he knew that was a battle he wouldn't win. Not that I wanted to fight him. I stood silently and took his words. Because he was right. "How? How could you let this happen to her? You're supposed to be a god! Everyone thinks you're so _perfect_ . Well you're not! She loved you, you know! You meant everything to her! You were lucky enough to have her and you threw it away! You left her to be murdered!" I said nothing, hoping that my face didn't reveal that his words were true. He'd figured it out. Adrian was smarter than I'd given him credit for. He caught his breath and began shouting again. His words stung. "She trusted you, you know! She would have done anything for you! You let her die!" I saw other guardians moving in behind Adrian, ready to escort him away. I couldn't let them hear too much of what he was saying.

"Adrian, I think the spirit is getting to you. You should probably get some rest." I kept my voice as even and calm as I could manage. I felt terrible. He had every right to be upset with me. But I couldn't allow him to expose my relationship with Rose. No one's memory of her needed to be tainted with that knowledge.

Adrian was still shouting and kicking as the guardians carried him away. No one seemed to be paying much attention though. Everyone was too occupied with their own losses, and with helping the injured. Slowly, we collectively made our way back to the heart of the academy. As we walked, Janine Hathaway strolled up next to me. I drew in a breath. She was one of the last people I felt like speaking with.

"You taught her well, Dimitri," she said quietly. I had nothing to say in response. What could I possibly say? "She died in battle. Just like I'm sure she would've wanted. Rose was a fighter. She did one hell of a job." Only at the end of her statement did I hear her voice waver slightly. It was her only sign of emotion.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Janine. Rose was an exceptionally talented student." I managed to keep my voice even. Janine nodded briefly in acknowledgement before walking off, probably to check in with the other guardians.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. After we got the students returned to their dorms, there wasn't much else to do. The wards had long since been restored, so there was no real danger anymore. Those of us who'd gone on the mission had been ordered to get some rest. After all, we still had to go back to the cave to collect the bodies after the sun rose.

Sleep was out of the question for me. There was too much on my mind. I paced around campus for a while. Normally, night time would have been the busy part of the vampire day, but there was scarcely anyone around. I was used to spending time alone. I often preferred it. I preferred it now, too. Talking to people was difficult. In my exhausted daze, I imagined Rose coming to find me. We'd take a walk, lingering in the trees at the edge of the forest. When no one could see us, I'd take her hand and we'd walk together, speaking so little but communicating so much. I might even steal a kiss from her in the shadows. I remembered the way she felt in my arms, so impossibly small and delicate, despite her fierce exterior. I remembered her eyes, deep brown, yet filled with so much light, so much emotion. I would never look into those eyes again.

And there, in the blanket of the forest, I broke down. Something inside of me snapped. I cried for a while. I don't know how long. When I regained composure, I went back to my bed. I didn't cry anymore, but I also didn't sleep. I tossed and turned until I saw the night of morning streaming through my window.

I changed clothes and brushed my hair and teeth, before heading back out to find the other guardians. It was time for what I dreaded most. It was time to go collect the bodies.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She wasn't there. _Rose. Wasn't. There._

We'd gone back into the caves to recover the bodies. Rose's body wasn't among them. I knew that the Strigoi had bitten her. So, if her body wasn't there, that could only mean one thing. If Rose wasn't dead…

Then she was _undead_. Rose, my Roza, was a Strigoi. I wrestled with the thought in my mind, trying to imagine her, cold and chalky pale, with blood red eyes. I didn't want to think about it. I tried to push the thought aside but I couldn't. It ate at me. There was something morbidly fascinating about the idea of her still being alive, whatever the conditions…

_No, _I immediately scolded myself. _She's not alive. _Strigoi carried nothing of their former selves with them. They may appear to look like your loved one, but that's where the similarities end. I knew that beyond the shadow of a doubt. I'd seen it with my own eyes. I'd taught Roza that lesson, drilled it into her mind. It's so very important, because, the second when you falter, the second you allow the emotions to get to you, can be the second you lose the fight. Strigoi reflexes are furiously fast. And as dhampirs, ours are quite good as well. But the Strigoi still definitely have the upper hand in that department.

And Rose. Rose had been an amazing dhampir. Which meant she must've been an absolutely destructive Strigoi.

There was a conversation I'd had with Roza, one that I couldn't get out of my head as we transported the bodies we'd recovered back to campus. Months ago, not long after I'd met her, we'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead than exist as Strigoi. There was nothing I could do to save her. She was gone. But I could honor what I knew would've been her wish. I could kill her.

But could I? I'd staked hundreds of Strigoi. I was desensitized to it. They were purely evil creatures that caused nothing but destruction and death. It was my job to destroy them and protect the Moroi. It's what I devoted my whole life to. But a Strigoi with Rosa's hair? With her face, her eyes? I knew she wouldn't look exactly the same, but I also knew she wouldn't look that different.

Could I do it without hesitation? Could I stop her and stake her? One slip-up could cost me my own life. More importantly, if I didn't take her down, who would? Losing my own life would be a small loss in comparison to allowing my true love to live on as an unnatural immortal being who was causing the very destruction she'd spent her mortal life fighting passionately to stop. I had to do it. There was no other option. I'd either stop her or I'd die trying. And they don't call me a god for nothing. I won't go down without a fight.

There was just one problem. Vasilisa. Normally, when we don't recover a body following a Strigoi attack, we assume the victim dead and move on. We don't normally attempt rescues, or go out seeking Strigoi. There's very good reason for this. It's dangerous. If Rose was anyone other than Rose, no one would have given any further thought to whether she was dead or Strigoi. We would have simply paid our respects and moved on. The problem, of course, was the bond.

This was an unprecedented situation. We had no way of knowing whether the bond between Rose and Vasilisa still existed. We had to assume that there was a possibility that it did. And if so, then the princess was in great danger. She was the last Dragomir, and keeping her in danger was a risk no one was willing to take.

That's where I came in. As her guardian, I was expected to go wherever she went and protect her. It was a duty I was obligated to fulfill. Rose would've wanted me to.

This was precisely the reason that I found myself in a meeting with Headmistress Kirova, Queen Tatiana (who'd promptly flown in from Pennsylvania), Alberta, who was the head of the guardians at St. Vladimir's, and several other guardians, including Janine Hathaway.

"One thing is for certain," stated the queen. "Princess Vasilisa's safety must not be compromised. If Rose in fact still possesses a bond with the princess, then we must keep her fully protected and monitored until we can be certain that the bond is severed." The condescending tone with which the queen said Rose's name bothered me. I know she hadn't been particularly fond of Rose, but the way she spoke now made me feel as though she'd considered the dhampir Rose to be every bit as evil as the Strigoi Rose. Of course, I said nothing.

"The academy has wards," said Alberta.

"And your wards clearly failed," interjected Queen Tatiana. "I will not allow Vasilisa to remain here." Both Alberta and Headmistress Kirova looked slightly taken aback, but they said nothing.

"Your Majesty, do you propose we take Vasilisa to the royal court?" asked Janine.

"I feel the court would also be a dangerous place," the queen replied. "While our wards are certainly properly maintained, there is heavy traffic in and out of the court at all times. If the bond still exists, we have to entertain the possibility that there may be ways for Rose to get around traditional security measures. Or for her to use others to do so." Janine and I exchanged brief glances but said nothing. No matter how tough her exterior, I knew that the idea of Rose being a Strigoi had to trouble her. The queen continued. "I am having a safe home arranged in a remote location, which will remain undisclosed until it is prepared. Vasilisa will remain there under twenty-four hour lockdown until a time that we can deem it absolutely safe for her to return."

No one else in the room knew what to say. I immediately felt sorry for Vasilisa. Not only had she just lost her best friend in the entire world, but she also had no remaining family. And now they were now going to isolate her from everyone. A little known fact was that the princess had struggled with depression. Certainly this wouldn't help matters.

"I want six guardians on duty at the location," the queen continued. Six? Six seem a bit excessive to me. Especially when there was a shortage on guardians as it was. But no one dared object to the queen.

"I recommend that we put Guardian Belikov in charge," said Headmistress Kirova. "He's been Vasilisa's guardian for the past few months. He does an excellent job." Several other heads in the room nodded.

"I'd be honored to accept the duty," I said solemnly.

"That's settled then," said the queen. "I trust you'll have no trouble arranging for five others to accompany Guardian Belikov. And I intend to make one additional arrangement as well." She paused. "Adrian Ivashkov will accompany the princess."

A sickening feeling began to grow in the pit of my stomach. Adrian was probably the last person on earth I wanted to have to deal with on a daily basis. I wanted to object to the whole arrangement. I wanted to argue that I thought Vasilisa would be perfectly safe, not to mention a lot happier, if she remained at St. Vladimir's. But when you're a dhampir, you don't argue with Moroi. And you certainly don't try to contradict the Moroi queen.

For the briefest of moments, I imagined what would've happened if Rose were actually there to hear this. She would've opened her mouth, no doubt. She had a knack for that. It wasn't perhaps her finest quality, but it was one that I secretly admired. For a second I almost smiled. Almost.

"We'll meet with Vasilisa this afternoon to inform her of these arrangements," said Queen Tatiana. "And if all goes according to plan, we should be able to get everyone relocated tomorrow."

And so it was settled. There was no use trying to fight it. I would be spending an indefinite length of time in a remote location with Adrian Ivashkov. It's a good thing I have a lot of patience.


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Please continue to read and review. I will continue to update as frequently as possible. Enjoy!_

Chapter 3

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I won't go without Christian."

The Queen, Headmistress Kirova, Alberta and I were in our afternoon meeting with Vasilisa. She hadn't taken the news of leaving the academy well.

"Princess Dragomir, there is no reason for Mr. Ozera to accompany you. He needs to remain at school to finish his education."

"What about my education, Your Majesty?" Vasilisa was obviously becoming distraught. Her cheeks were flushed. She was maintaining her composure much better than the other night when she'd found out about Rose, but there were dark circles under her eyes and it was apparent that she wasn't well. "How am I going to start college in the fall if I can't finish high school?"

"We will send your lessons to you, Princess Dragomir. You're an intelligent young woman. I trust you'll be able to work through them. Besides, this is only temporary. As soon as we know that the bond is destroyed, we will allow you to return to the academy."

"Shouldn't I have the right to decide what I want to do?" Vasilisa raised her voice slightly. "I'm willing to risk remaining at the academy. Haven't I been through enough? I need something in my life to be normal." My heart went out to the girl. She didn't stand a chance on this matter though.

"I'm sorry, Princess Dragomir, but your safety is most important at the moment. I trust you'll understand some day." Vasilisa looked momentarily defeated. Then, her tone of voice changed.

"I'd really like for Christian to come with me." It was subtle-barely detectable, really. But she was using compulsion on the queen, as well as Kirova and Alberta. It was a brave move, one that certainly would've caused her a mountain of trouble if they ever found out. As for me though, my lips were sealed. "I really think that Christian should come along." The three of their faces went slightly slack. Their eyes looked unfocused.

"Very well, Princess. I'll allow Mr. Ozera to come along with you. We'll make arrangements for him to leave tomorrow as well." I caught myself before my jaw dropped. Vasilisa had just compelled the queen. And it worked.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Vasilisa. "I mean no disrespect to you, but, if the bond still exists, Rose can see through my eyes. I could never tell when she was doing it before. She could be doing it now. So she's going to know what's going on, no matter where I am." Vasilisa's face twisted slightly, as though the thought both terrified and intrigued her. She faced the same struggle as I did; knowing that an entity that was essentially Rose still existed, yet knowing that there was nothing of our Rose left within it.

"The matter has been considered, Princess Dragomir," the queen replied, not appearing to be offended by Vasilisa's concern. "I have reasoned that a remote location is best. At the academy, there are many people around, and anything you see or overhear could be seen and heard by Rose. In a remote setting, such as where you're going, there will be very little stimuli for her to overhear, thus decreasing the likelihood that she'll overhear anything of importance. Additionally, the location will be protected by wards as well as six guardians. I am doing everything in my power to keep you well protected until this is sorted out, Princess."

Vasilisa nodded, her face looking slightly defeated. She knew there was no changing the queen's mind.

"Well, I believe things are all settled then, Princess Dragomir," said the queen. "You'll depart in the morning."

"Your Majesty, I do have one final question," Vasilisa spoke. "Is it possible for us to attend the memorial service tomorrow before we leave?" There was a memorial service being held at the chapel for the victims of the battle. It probably wouldn't end before mid-afternoon. No compulsion was necessary this time. I think Queen Tatiana did feel sympathetic towards Vasilisa.

"Yes, of course. Please take the time to pay your respects. Just plan on departing afterward."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Vasilisa replied. She was keeping her composure quite well. It occurred to me for the first time that Vasilisa and I might actually share some similarities. I don't know if it was that realization, or just my sympathy for her situation, but I stopped Vasilisa to speak to her after the meeting ended.

"I'm sorry they're sending you away from the academy, Princess," I said to her quietly. She sighed deeply.

"I'm just… I don't know. I'm a million different things. My best friend was just killed… or turned, rather. It makes me so sad… but not just sad…angry. Why Rose? She fought so hard… she was so good. Guardian Belikov, I know a lot of people think that Rose was always causing trouble, but she was the one person in the world who would have done anything for me." Her green eyes stared up at me, brimming with tears.

"Rose was a great person," I agreed, speaking slowly and evenly so I could keep my own emotions in check. "And having you as a best friend meant the world to her. She would have wanted you to do everything within your power to stay safe." I tried to pull my lips into a smile, but I'm sure it didn't look genuine.

"This whole business with the bond… I just don't know what to think," Vasilisa went on, words spilling from her. I think she just needed to let it out. "I mean… I don't know how I'm supposed to know if it's still there, or if it's not. When she was... alive, I couldn't sense her… not at all. But she could see through my eyes whenever she wanted. And if she can still do that… Well, I just can't imagine… I can't imagine that Rose would want to hurt me…" A few stray tears started streaming down her cheeks. At that moment I felt as though a stake was being driven through my own heart. I didn't know how to comfort her. A hug didn't seem appropriate.

"Rose—your Rose—never would've done anything to hurt you, Princess. I know that without a doubt. But Strigoi aren't the people that they used to be—not at all. It's not Rose anymore. Everything that made her Rose is gone." Now I was the one trying not to cry. Vasilisa was openly crying.

"I just can't believe she's gone," she whispered. "She's really gone." Vasilisa looked me in the eyes, and I think she noticed my pain. "I'm sorry, Guardian Belikov. I know you must miss her too. You spent so much time training her. She—she thought so highly of you…" The stake being driven through my heart was just shoved in a little deeper.

"I do miss Rose. Very much." _You have no idea how much._

"So, I wonder where we're all being sent off to," Vasilisa said, after a few seconds of awkward silence. She was trying to change the subject and I couldn't complain.

"They haven't even told me that," I told her honestly. "At least you convinced Queen Tatiana to let Christian come along." I gave her a look. She gasped.

"You know? Oh my gosh… I mean, I wouldn't have compelled her. I shouldn't have. I know it was wrong… I just… I couldn't imagine being without Christian too…" Vasilisa's face flushed. It was one of those rare moments when I almost felt like smiling. She was so worried that she would get into trouble because I knew.

"Your secret is safe with me," I said simply. "Now, speaking of Christian, why don't we get you back to him?" Vasilisa nodded, looking relieved. I escorted her back to the Moroi dorms.

When I finished my guardian duties for the day and got back to my own room, it was late. I was exhausted from everything that had happened in the past few days, not to mention the fact that I had scarcely been able to sleep. Still, I stretched out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to silence my mind.

I had no idea what the queen had planned, or where she was sending us. That didn't bother me too much. As a guardian I was used to being adaptable. We dealt with change regularly. But now I was conflicted. I couldn't stay and be Vasilisa's guardian and go hunt down Rose. So what was I supposed to do?

On one hand, I knew that Rose would have wanted me to protect Vasilisa. I wanted to protect Vasilisa. She deserved that much, and as a guardian, it was my sworn duty to protect her. It was something that I had always taken incredibly seriously.

On the other hand, as long as Rose existed as a Strigoi, Vasilisa wasn't safe. Anyone who actually thought they had any idea how to break that bond was kidding themselves. I knew without a doubt that no one had any idea what to do about it. Vasilisa couldn't stay in isolation forever. The only way to be certain of Vasilisa's safety was to destroy Rose.

So, what was my plan of action? Well, clearly there was no easy answer. I debated my options over and over again in my mind as I tossed and turned, until I finally fell into a restless sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next morning I was debriefed by Alberta about our travel plans. We were to board one of the academy's jets that afternoon. From there we would fly to a small airport in Pennsylvania. Then, we had an hour car ride to our destination, which was apparently a large residential house in a very remote location. For obvious security reasons, no one aside from the guardians was allowed to know our location. The plane would land in Pennsylvania at a location that had no signs or indication of our whereabouts. From there, we would immediately usher everyone into vehicles that were specially equipped without windows, so that no one, especially Vasilisa, could see how we arrived at the house. Honestly, the idea of vehicles without windows was giving me mental images of creepy, beat up old vans, but I was sure that the queen and the academy would insure that whatever awaited us was much nicer than that.

Alberta had arranged for five other guardians to accompany me. I knew two of them, who were also from the academy. The other three I had never met. We were also bringing along two feeders who would remain on site for the Moroi. Also, of course, there would be Vasilisa, Christian and Adrian. That made eleven of us in all.

We would receive weekly visits from Moroi to maintain the wards and bring us anything we may need. That was the queen's reasoning for placing us in Pennsylvania. We were only a few hours from the royal court, meaning that she could easily send someone to us if need be. We ourselves were to exit the warded area around the house as little as possible. Vasilisa, Christian and Adrian weren't to do so at all.

I felt confident that Vasilisa would be protected. I also felt confident that the three Moroi we were guarding were soon going to be quite bored. With those arrangements made, I hastily packed up my few belongings. I was certain to bring all of my westerns. They had a suitcase all of their own. I had a feeling there was going to be a lot of down time. There's no better way to escape reality than to read. I could almost hear Rose mocking me as I stacked my books in the suitcase. Roza wasn't exactly a bookworm.

In some ways this assignment felt more like a babysitting job, honestly. Granted, Adrian was technically an adult already, although from my observations he rarely acted like it. Vasilisa and Christian were nearly adults. Vasilisa normally acted like one. Christian was questionable at times, especially if he got upset with Adrian, which was known to be a frequent occurrence. Not to mention the fact that Adrian was infuriated with me. I still hadn't seen him since the other night. To the best of my knowledge he was still in the infirmary receiving medical treatment. The effects of spirit were causing him to be especially distraught since Rose's death. I hoped he was at least doing a little better. I really didn't feel like being hauled up in the middle of nowhere with a suicide risk. Of course, as a guardian, I was sworn to protect any Moroi life. But if I had to keep preventing party boy from slitting his wrists… well that would get old fast.

The memorial service wasn't for a few more hours. The intelligent thing to do would've been to get some rest, but that wasn't happening. Instead I threw on some shorts and a t-shirt and headed to the gym.

It felt good to get in a workout since I hadn't for a few days. Exercise always allowed me to think clearly. But now, my thoughts were only about _her_. Roza. I pictured her, healthy, _alive_. We were running on the track together. She'd push herself to keep up with me, her gorgeous dark brown hair trailing out wildly behind her. I'd fall slightly behind her on purpose, just to watch her ahead of me.

"What's the matter, comrade, can't keep up?" She'd turn her head back and give me a snarky smirk. I'd immediately pick up my speed, passing her easily as she hastened her speed to catch up.

"Hey! This isn't fair, you know!" she shouted, clearly out of breath. "You're like a foot taller than me!" I grinned as I slowed and turned around to face her.

"You wouldn't want me to go easy on you!" I called, flashing her a grin. She said nothing in reply, just kept running full force straight towards me. I knew what she was about to do. I could've stopped her, but I didn't. A second later, she slammed into me, tackling me to the ground.

"Maybe I'm the one who needs to go easy on you, comrade." She grinned down at me breathlessly, her body still resting on top of mine, her hair falling down all around me. Her face was inches from mine, and those eyes—those breathtaking almond shaped eyes—held a mixture of desire and love as they gazed into mine. We were both still breathing heavily. She had no idea how much self-control it took on my part for me to stay away from her for as long as I had. Her lips were inches from mine. I was acutely aware of every place our bodies were touching. I could feel her heart hammering away in her chest. I wanted so badly to kiss her. I wanted to do a lot more than kiss her, honestly. But I had to hold back, in case anyone was watching. I allowed us to lie together that way for a moment longer than I should have. Then, very lightly I brushed my lips against her cheek.

"Roza," I whispered. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, knowing she was disappointed with me. "We should get back inside." She tried to act normal, but the hurt in her eyes was visible. She was doubting that I wanted her, doubting that I loved her. How? How could she ever have any doubt in the way I felt about her? _Because you didn't fucking show it enough, Belikov! _My internal monologue chastised me. _You thought you had more time! You waited too long to show your feelings! _The one time we'd actually been together was going to haunt me forever. The happiest moments of my life would forever be tarnished. She was stolen away from me. Just when we had finally been happy they had taken her away from me!

The sound of the gym door opening pulled me back to reality. I realized that I'd been furiously attacking a punching bag. Tears were streaming from my cheeks. I quickly wiped my eyes, hoping I'd just look like I was sweating. I was drenched all over, so it shouldn't have been too much of a stretch. I glanced over to see who had come in. Eddie Castile. He was in training to be a guardian, due to graduate in the spring. He was a pretty good friend of Rose's and, from what I'd seen, was going to make an excellent guardian someday soon.

"Hi, Guardian Belikov!" he called across the gym, giving me a small wave. I nodded to him

"Hello, Eddie." I left the gym before he continued talking to me. I wasn't in the mood for conversation. I decided to go back to my room and avoid people until the memorial service, where interaction with people would be inevitable.

At the service, I stood along the back wall with the other guardians. I'd showered and dressed appropriately in my guardian attire, hoping to look composed. People were filing into the chapel, filling the pews. They bore solemn expressions, many were crying. Some carried tissues, others leaned on one another for support. I reminded myself, once again, that this attack had shaken the whole academy, and the whole Moroi world. It was easy to get so caught up in my own loss that I forgot about how many others were grieving. This attack, and the rescue mission that had followed, was honestly the single most tragic and devastating event, by far, that I had ever experienced in my life as a guardian. Such events were unprecedented. I had to accept that there was a growing danger in our world. For Rose's sake, I needed to remember my role and to be a catalyst for change, as she and Vasilisa as well as a growing group of others were. We could never allow something like this to happen again.

Speaking of Vasilisa, she and Christian had just walked through the door. He had his arm around her for comfort, but she was clearly inconsolable. She was sobbing so hard that I don't think she'd have been able to find her way to a seat if he wasn't guiding her. I closed my eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath. I would remain calm. I had to remain calm.

I spent the ceremony in full-fledged guardian mode, focusing as much of my attention as possible on the surroundings, and very little on the ceremony itself. It was just easier that way. Several people spoke about the bravery and courage of all the victims. Father Andrew led a service. Prayers were said. The chapel was so full of people I began to feel suffocated after a while. I was honestly just glad when it was all over.

I had the brief reprieve of going to collect my belongings before meeting the others at the small runway to board our jet. The two other guardians who were from the academy were already waiting. Alan and Emil were both friendly enough. I didn't know either of them particularly well—many guardians tended to keep to themselves—but they were both dedicated to their work and I was sure they wouldn't be any trouble to work with. We exchanged greetings. A moment later, Alberta arrived, leading the other three guardians who would accompany us. She introduced them to us briefly.

Clara was a few years older than me, with a slightly stocky build and a lot of muscle for a woman. She certainly looked like she'd be skilled at fighting. She had short black hair and eyes that were startlingly blue. She had come from the royal court. Seth was in his early thirties, slender but muscular, and quite a few inches shorter than me. He had previously been working for an elderly member of the Ivashkov family who had recently passed away. Finally, there was Melanie, who was also in her early thirties. She had unruly red hair and freckled skin. She was short, even for a dhampir, with dark rimmed glasses and a friendly smile. She also had come from the royal court. They seemed like a good group, not that I'd been terribly worried. In my years as a guardian I'd only ever come across one or two other guardians that were difficult to work with.

Alberta bid us farewell, assuring me that she would be in touch frequently to check up on us. She also informed me that some guardians from the royal court would be meeting us when the plane landed to escort us to our new house.

Vasilisa, Christian, and Adrian arrived a few moments later. Adrian shot me a glare, but remained silent. Christian greeted everyone politely, and Vasilisa, who looked more composed than earlier, though still quite upset, managed a small hello. I made introductions between the three of them and the new guardians. There was a fair amount of tension in the air. I think it was partially due to everyone still being worn-down and upset from the attack—Alan and Emil looked as exhausted as I felt. There was also still tension between me and Adrian, which I really hoped I could hide from the others. Add to that the fact that we had three others with us that no one knew yet, and it made for an awkward situation.

_Better get used to it, _I thought. _We're all going to be living together for who knows how long. One big, happy family. _Lastly, our two feeders arrived. One was an elderly woman named Alice, who had been a feeder at the academy for a while. The other was a young boy named Curtis who couldn't have been more than twenty. Both of them looked thoroughly intoxicated from vampire bites. The guardian who dropped them off with us bid us farewell and left quickly, appearing relieved to be rid of them.

The pilot informed us that we could board the jet. Clara, Alan and Seth sat farthest in the back. Alice and Curtis sat in front of them, one on each side. Then Vasilisa and Christian sat next to each other in the row in front of them. Adrian sat a_c_ross from them. Emil and Melanie sat next to one another in front of Vasilisa and Christian, leaving me to sit in front of Adrian.

After all our luggage was loaded up, we were ready for takeoff. No one spoke much at first. I glanced around. Alice had dozed off. Curtis was listening to headphones and staring out the window. Adrian was hunched forward, staring at the floor. I wondered to myself how much alcohol he'd had before boarding the plane. Vasilisa was resting her head on Christian's shoulder, apparently trying to rest, as he stroked her hair. The guardians in the back of the plane were making some quiet small talk, telling one another about their previous jobs. Neither Emil or Melanie were talking, so I relaxed down into my seat and watched out the window as the lights from the academy grew fainter and fainter.

The flight itself was actually relatively peaceful. There's little risk of any sort of Strigoi attack when you're thirty thousand feet in the air. I tried reading for a little while, but my mind couldn't focus on the words. So I sat there, dazed, trying to prevent my mind from wandering into any dangerous, emotional thoughts.

It was unfortunate that eventually Adrian became more talkative.

"It'd be nice to know where we're getting shipped off to," he remarked out of nowhere, sounding irritated.

"None of us know, Adrian," said Vasilisa.

"Belikov knows," Adrian insisted. "Not that _he'd_ tell us anything." He glared at me.

"Actually, Princess Dragomir is right. None of us know where we're going. It's very important to our safety that no one knows. You already know why."

"Right. Because Rose got turned Strigoi." His words were like daggers.

"Adrian," Vasilisa spoke. "Don't you want to help me try to fix this? You're the only other spirit user I know, and we have to figure out whether the bond still exists." This was news to me. I didn't know they were actually planning to figure anything out. I made a mental note to keep a close eye on them.

"Of course I want to help," replied Adrian, using a gentler tone of voice towards Vasilisa. "I just think we all could've been saved a whole lot of trouble if Rose was still alive." I tensed up in my seat, ready for a confrontation if it came to that. It was Christian, surprisingly, who jumped in.

"Adrian, I was there with Rose when she was fighting that night. Rose could fight as well as any guardian, even if she wasn't finished training yet. But unfortunately, things happen. Even the best people aren't perfect. It's sad, but it's reality."

"That's easy for you to say, Ozera. You're probably glad Rose got turned Strigoi. She can pick up where your parents left off!" Now _that _remark was uncalled for. Around the plane, all of the guardians tensed up, ready to deal with any situation that arose. Christian's eyes turned dark with anger. I half expected him to try to set Adrian on fire. Surprisingly, it was Vasilisa who spoke next.

"Please, stop fighting," she said to them, her voice calm and even. I realized almost instantly what she was doing. At the moment I was grateful. Since I couldn't use physical violence on Moroi, obviously, I wasn't entirely certain how to deal with quarrels like these, especially in the confines of an airplane. "You don't want to fight one another. You don't want to argue." Adrian and Christian both fell silent. I could only hope that the other guardians hadn't noticed that Vasilisa had used compulsion. I somehow doubted I would be that lucky.

I had a feeling I'd have a fair amount of explaining to do when we landed. I also had a feeling that this assignment was definitely going to keep my hands full. How was I going to hunt down Rose when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with Adrian Ivashkov? There was one thing I knew for certain. I needed a plan. And fast.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The house where we were staying was nice, but plain. It was surrounded by a thick forest of pine trees, but there was a small yard surrounding it. The house was two stories with a brick façade and a wrap-around porch. Inside it was actually quite spacious.

The first floor had a very nice formal living room, complete with enough seating for all of us, and a large fireplace. There was also a less formal sitting room with cozier looking suede furniture and a gigantic flat-screen television. The eat-in kitchen was huge and fully furnished with state-of-the-art appliances. The fridge and cupboards were stocked with nearly everything imaginable. There was a small, adjacent feeding room for the Moroi. We also had a large, formal dining room with a huge mahogany table and plenty of seating for everyone.

The second floor was equally as nice, with a separate bedroom and adjacent bathroom for each of us. Of course, the Moroi had the largest and nicest rooms. Vasilisa's was especially ornate. It seemed the queen was going to great lengths to try to make the princess feel as comfortable as possible.

Her room had thick, plush white carpet and the walls were a soft cream. She had a queen-sized canopy bed, with linens and throw pillows in various shades of lavender. She had a huge bay window with a cozy window-seat and heavy curtains that could be drawn during the daytime to prevent excess sunlight. There was an enormous, built-in bookcase, and a spacious ebony desk and chair for studying. The room was large enough for a separate seating area, with a dainty, light purple love seat and an elegant chaise lounge. She also had her own small, electric fireplace. Her bathroom was equally as spacious, even including a Jacuzzi. And she had a walk-in closet that I could only imagine would be the envy of women everywhere.

Christian and Adrian's rooms were also spacious and well-furnished. The rest of us had smaller, similar rooms. They reminded me of hotel rooms. Mine had a comfortable bed, a chair with a reading lamp, a small desk, a dresser with a flat-screen television on top, and a small but efficient bathroom. It was more than sufficient for me.

There was another feature of the house I was grateful for. The entire basement had been made into a gym. Whoever had designed this home had been considerate to their guardians. I actually had no idea how the queen had procured such a fitting house for us on such short notice. I could only speculate that the royal court owned such properties as this for the purpose of keeping folks in hiding. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the amount of space we had. Conflicts were a lot less likely when everyone had his or her own room.

I had met with the guardians upon arrival to settle our schedules. Clara, Melanie and Seth had volunteered themselves to take shifts patrolling the perimeter of the grounds. Even with the wards, I decided it was a good idea. After all, there were six of us guardians and only three charges. I offered to have Emil, Alan and myself take outside shifts as well, but Melanie pointed out that Vasilisa, Christian and Adrian probably felt more comfortable with us because they already knew us. It was a good point, but I also think the conflict on the plane had made the three new guardians a little uncomfortable. None of them had mentioned Vasilisa using compulsion, thank God.

With that settled, I left them to arrange their shifts. Then I assigned Emil to Adrian, Alan to Christian, and myself to Vasilisa. In such a confined area, I wouldn't have had to make specific one-on-one assignments, but considering that these three were Rose's friends and shared in at least some of her recklessness, I felt it would be best to keep a close eye on them. Plus, I remembered what Vasilisa had said to Adrian on the plane about helping her figure out the bond. I couldn't risk them sneaking off and trying something stupid.

I found Vasilisa in her room, unpacking her things.

"Would you like some help, Princess?" I offered. She sighed exasperatedly.

"Please don't call me Princess, Guardian Belikov." Her voice had an edge of attitude, which almost put me in mind of Rose.

"I'm sorry, Vasilisa," I apologized.

"Lissa! It's Lissa!" She raised her voice. I stared at her, taken aback at her outburst. "I'm sorry, Guardian Belikov." Her voice cracked. "I just want to feel normal. I hate this! I hate that everyone had to be shipped off here because of me! I hate that everyone thinks I'm so fragile! I hate this room! I hate this house! I hate being a princess! I hate the fact that she's gone!" Vasilisa—Lissa, rather—was ripping the decorative pillows off of her bed and tossing them around the room forcefully. It was another gesture that made me think of Rose.

"Lissa," I said calmly. It felt strange to call her that. "I'm sorry you feel that way." I took a breath. "How about you think of it this way? You're part of a completely unique mission. We've never dealt with a Strigoi that had a bond with a spirit user before. We're not just going to keep you isolated out here indefinitely. We're going to figure this out. And you're going to play a key role in it."

"You mean that?" Vasilisa—Lissa—asked.

"Of course," I said. I actually had no plan whatsoever yet. But maybe Lissa's abilities with spirit would be useful. And Adrian's too, if he'd calm down and cooperate.

That seemed to calm Lissa down slightly.

"Well then, since we're on a first name basis now, Lissa, there's just one condition. You can call me Dimitri." She forced a small smile.

"Okay, Dimitri."

"Now, would you like some help unpacking?"

"Yes, I suppose I could use some. Thank you." I began by placing her pillows back onto her bed. Then I grabbed a medium-sized cardboard box and pulled it open, expecting to find books or something.

"Oh…" Lissa froze as I peered inside. I immediately figured out why. Photographs, mostly of her and Rose. I stopped in my tracks. "I—I don't know if I can look at that stuff yet, Dimitri. I couldn't bear to leave it behind, but I don't think I'm ready to go through it yet."

"I understand," I replied, quickly folding the flaps of the box closed. Part of me really wanted to look at those photographs. The other part of me knew that I would most certainly break down if I did. "I'll just put this box in your closet."

"Okay. Thank you."

As I put the box away, I wondered to myself if there would ever be a point in time when I would tell Lissa about me and Rose. Maybe someday, I thought to myself. Lissa was probably the only other person in the world who felt as much grief as I did. Of course, I might not have to be the one to tell her. Adrian knew. He would've kept his mouth shut while Rose was alive to keep her from getting into trouble. But now that she was gone… well it was obvious that he wasn't terribly fond of me. I wouldn't have been surprised if he started telling everyone just to make my life more difficult. There really wasn't much stopping him.

We put the rest of Lissa's belongings away quickly. She hadn't brought a lot with her. Then she wanted to go see Christian. I accompanied her. As it turned out, Christian was still pretty upset with Adrian. I couldn't blame him

"It took a lot of nerve for him to say that," he said to Lissa, as they sat next to each other on the loveseat in his room, referring to the remark Adrian had made to him on the plane. I stood off to the side, strictly playing the guardian role. Lissa had offered repeatedly for me to sit with them, but I didn't feel much like interacting.

"I know," Lissa replied gently. "I'm really disappointed in him. I know he's upset about Rose, but it's no excuse for that. Just please try not to fight with him. I can't take the added stress." Christian let out a deep sigh, but nodded. I could tell it was difficult for him, but he didn't want to cause Lissa the added grief.

"I still can't believe you compelled us both," Christian said. "I can't believe you were able to compel him."

"Well, I couldn't let the two of you kill each other," Lissa said, as though it were obvious. "Plus the spirit is really getting to Adrian lately, even more than usual. I think that's why it was easy to compel him. He didn't even try to defend himself." Lissa was quiet for a moment, eyeing me as though she was unsure whether she should keep talking while I was in the room. I pretended to be ignoring them. "I was thinking," Lissa finally continued talking to Christian. "Adrian can do spirit dreams. He used to visit Rose. Do you think he could do that now and see where she is?" Christian raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like it'd be safe, does it?" I listened to them intently. Maybe this is what Lissa had been referring to when she was talking to Adrian on the plane.

"Well, if it's just a dream then she couldn't hurt him, right? Adrian was always able to see the bond in our auras—hers in particular. If he could just see her maybe he could tell if it was still there."

"I guess so," Christian reasoned. "But what if it is possible for her to hurt him in the dream? Not that I'd really care—"

"Christian!" Lissa scolded, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Sorry," Christian apologized half-heartedly. He thought a moment. "Adrian can't tell anything from your aura?" Lissa shook her head.

"He says I've been too upset to tell anything. My aura has been all over the place. He says there's some darkness in it. He told me that Rose used to take the darkness away from my aura." She paused a moment, guilt flooding her features. They were right about that. I'd seen it first hand when I'd taken Rose to the cabin. "But if Rose is a Strigoi, I doubt she's taking darkness from me anymore."

"Right. She's probably giving you the darkness instead, or something," said Christian. He certainly wasn't the type to sugarcoat anything. Lissa shuddered.

"That's creepy." It was. But it was also a legitimate possibility. "What do you think, Dimitri?" she asked me.

"Well, I think anything is possible," I said honestly. "We really don't know what we're dealing with here."

"Do you think it's safe for Adrian to try to find Rose in a spirit dream?" asked Christian.

"I think that if Adrian wants to try to find Rose in a spirit dream then there's nothing we can do to stop him from it." It was the truth. I wasn't sure he'd be safe, but I also didn't know how to stop him from trying if he wanted to. Plus, I was kind of curious. I hoped Alan wasn't listening too closely from the other side of the room. He was occupied reading a newspaper. I hadn't done anything wrong, technically. But I should have been forbidding the idea, since it could cause potential harm to a Moroi. Alan showed no reaction. Lissa and Christian seemed excited by the idea.

"Maybe Adrian can try it tonight," Lissa suggested. "We should go talk to him."

"Suit yourself," Christian replied, clearly still not on speaking terms with Adrian. I personally shared in his opinion, but Lissa wanted to go, so I went along with her.

We soon figured out that Adrian wouldn't be trying any spirit dreaming that night.

"Great. You're drunk." Lissa sighed irritably. Adrian was slumped on his couch, barely conscious. On the coffee table in front of him was a nearly empty fifth of vodka.

"Just catchin' a buzz, cuz." He chuckled at his rhyme. "Gotta chase away the crazies somehow." His speech was slurred. Lissa knelt down in front of him, making sure he was okay.

I walked over to Emil, who discretely shook his head in disapproval. He spoke to me quietly.

"The queen gave him permission to have whatever alcohol he wants. And he's an adult. There's not much I can do." He frowned.

"No, you're right. There's not." I agreed. Although we both disagreed with Adrian's behavior, there was little we could do since he was an adult Moroi, and a royal, yet at that. I glanced back at Lissa, who had apparently given up on having a coherent conversation with Adrian, and was trying to coax him to go to bed. Finally, she gave up, and, feeling badly, I guess, tossed a throw blanket over him on the couch.

Lissa and Christian might have been onto a good idea, but there wouldn't be any spirit dreams tonight.


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. This chapter is a little shorter than the past few have been, but I think you'll like it. Happy reading! Reviews are appreciated! _

Chapter 6

Time at the house passed by slowly and uneventfully. I was growing more and more restless every day. Sure, we hadn't even been there a week yet, but every day I stayed there doing nothing was one more day that Rose existed as a Strigoi. And I needed to honor her wishes.

When I wasn't with Lissa, I spent a fair amount of time in the gym. I still wasn't sleeping well. Adrian, on the other hand, was.

"I couldn't find her," he told Lissa one morning over breakfast. "I've been trying." He was obviously frustrated that he hadn't had a spirit dream with Rose yet.

"It's okay," she said. "You've just got to keep trying." Adrian hadn't been drinking as much since the night that Lissa had found him drunk. Once she told him about her plan, he was eager to try to help. He still drank some, and still smoked like a chimney, but he was staying more in control than he had been.

"Keep in mind that Strigoi don't need sleep," I reminded them. "They can do it, but it's not necessary for them. They can go indefinitely without sleep if they want to."

"Maybe Rose isn't even a Strigoi," Adrian said, ignoring me. "Maybe she's just dead. Maybe that's why I can't find her." It was a possibility. But normally whenever we didn't recover a victim's body, we eventually learned that the person was turned. It rarely turned out otherwise. Plus I just had this inexplicable gut feeling that Rose was a Strigoi. I could've been wrong, but I seriously doubted it.

"Well, maybe it's the same as Strigoi not being able to cross wards," Lissa suggested. "Because magic is a life force. Since Rose is technically dead, maybe she can't be drawn into a spirit dream."

"That's quite a hypothesis, cuz," said Adrian thoughtfully. "I'm impressed."

"I'm impressed that you know the word hypothesis," Lissa teased him. I was too, honestly. Adrian shook his head.

"Seriously, though. That makes a lot of sense," Adrian grew quiet for a moment. "So, what if I bring you along?"

"What?" said Lissa and I in unison, her tone curious and mine concerned.

"Well, you and Rose either have or had the bond. If you're there, and she's still attached to your life force somehow, then maybe we'll be able to get her there." Lissa looked intrigued. I was too, but I didn't show it.

"Absolutely not," I said. "We're not risking Lissa's well-being."

"Oh, so it's okay for me to risk my life trying to find her, but it's not okay for Lissa?" Adrian immediately got defensive with me.

"Adrian," I said as calmly as I could manage. "You are an adult. You're capable of making your own choices. Lissa, on the other hand, is still a minor and an academy student. Therefore it is my responsibility to monitor her actions." Lissa looked slightly offended.

"I am perfectly capable of making my own choices," she snapped. "And I want to do it. You said yourself that you couldn't stop Adrian from trying the dreams. So you can't stop me either." I was still taken aback by how forward Lissa could be sometimes. She must've learned it from Roza.

"And what if something happens to you?" I countered.

"Then something happens to me! For God sakes! Everyone acts like I'm so breakable! You said yourself that I was going to be able to help figure this out! _So let me do it!_"

"Lissa! You can't compel Belikov!" Adrian snapped. Wow, for once Adrian was the one with morals. He forced Lissa to stop. I looked at the two of them with absolute seriousness. I used a darker tone of voice than I would've normally used with either of them, but I meant to get my point across.

"I'm going to pretend that didn't just happen. But if I ever, _ever _catch either of you attempting to use compulsion on me or any of the other guardians, I _will_ report it and there _will_ be consequences." They both stared at me, eyes wide in shock.

"I—I'm sorry," Lissa squeaked. I realized I was gripping the edge of the granite counter so tightly my knuckles had turned white. My face was twisted into a scowl that I normally would have only used during a fight. I realized that I must've really scared them, and I softened my expression and loosened my grip. There was just something about them using compulsion that really pissed me off. If they got some crazy idea and compelled the rest of us so that they could escape and try it out… well who knew what might happen to them by the time we realized what was going on!

"Easy, Belikov, we're not gonna compel anybody." Adrian spoke lazily, but I could tell I'd startled him. Lissa looked like she was on the verge of tears, and I almost felt bad. But I didn't apologize.

They discontinued talk of the spirit dreams for the rest of breakfast, though. Probably in an attempt not to aggravate me. But they brought it up again later that afternoon. This time, they ignored me altogether.

"So, when we go to sleep, I'll get you first. That part's simple. Then we'll both try to find Rose. It's as simple as that. If the bond makes a difference, then maybe we'll know as soon as tonight." Adrian sounded optimistic.

"I really hope we know soon," said Lissa. "We need to figure out what we can do about this. If the bond is still there, then we need to figure out how to destroy it." The two of them talked as though I wasn't in the room. I guess that was their new plan. I'd offered to give Emil a break for the rest of the day, since Adrian and Lissa were spending time together, it wasn't really necessary for both of us to be with them constantly. Emil didn't object. I think being Adrian's guardian must've been a bit exhausting.

I felt anger rising up inside of me again. Maybe it was the fact that I was stuck here babysitting these two when I should've been out hunting Roza. Or maybe it was the fact that it seemed like they had a better chance of figuring out what was going on than I did. Two Moroi shouldn't have been sitting there trying to figure out how to destroy a Strigoi. That was _my_ job. I drew in deep breaths. I needed to stay calm. My own thoughts had momentarily distracted me from their conversation, which had apparently taken a turn.

"…then maybe there could still be some life force left inside of Rose, because of the bond," Adrian was saying.

"Adrian! What if I could heal her? What if I could bring her back somehow?" Lissa's voice sounded hopeful.

"I dunno, cuz. That's probably not likely, but I guess anything's possible." Adrian didn't sound convinced. That was it. I threw the paperback I'd been pretending to read onto the ground and marched towards them. They both glanced up at me, wide-eyed.

"You don't fucking get it, do you?" I demanded, my voice harsh. I leaned over them. "A Strigoi—even Rose as a Strigoi—would rip your head off before you even had a chance to register what was going on! Even if your crazy dream plan works, and even if you were actually able to track Rose down in person—which you won't, because I won't let you—you wouldn't have a chance to try to heal her, Lissa! You wouldn't have a chance because you'd be _dead_!" I glared at them, my heart pounding. Where did they come up with such ridiculous ideas? I tried to calm down from my outburst, because I knew I only had a matter of seconds before every other guardian in the house showed up.

Vasilisa had burst into tears. Adrian had placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. He looked up at me.

"You know, Belikov, maybe our plans wouldn't be so crazy if you were actually willing to take us seriously for a moment and consider _helping_ us instead of shooting down our every idea."

I kept hearing his words repeating over and over in my head. But I couldn't allow them to try to do the things they'd been discussing. I just couldn't.


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N: I am having so much fun writing this story. This is my third chapter of the day. I'm going to be busy the next few days so I won't have time to update as often, but I'll keep writing as much as I can. Enjoy the chapter… it's an exciting one. And review, please! _

Chapter 7

I felt really terrible about yelling at Lissa—really, really terrible. I felt like a failure of a guardian. We were supposed to keep our Moroi safe at all costs. We were supposed to ensure that they were happy and healthy. We most certainly weren't supposed to make them cry.

For the next day, Lissa acted like she was walking on eggshells around me. She barely spoke to me. Christian and Adrian barely spoke to me either, but both of them shot glares at me whenever they had the chance. Why couldn't they see that I was concerned for their safety?

When Lissa and Adrian started talking about the spirit dreams again, I didn't say anything. I had my doubts that anything would actually happen anyway. If Rose still could see through Lissa due to the bond, then she ought to already have known that they were trying to contact her through spirit dreams. And if she wanted to show up, then she'd show up. If not, well then maybe the bond was already destroyed and we could go back to the academy. And I could get on with my mission of destroying Rose.

Due to their mutual anger with me, no doubt, Christian and Adrian were actually being civil to one another. That night, they all planned to stay in Lissa's room in order to attempt the spirit dream.

"Aren't you going to go to sleep, Belikov?" Adrian asked. We guardians hadn't typically been staying with our charges while they slept, because since it was light outside the danger was minimal. But that wasn't the case tonight.

"Not a chance," I replied. They failed to realize that I could stay awake for thirty-six hours without missing a beat—even longer, if need be. There was no way I was leaving the three of them alone tonight. Adrian scoffed and Christian and Lissa ignored me.

Christian was planning on staying awake to watch while Lissa and Adrian both slept. But he drew the line at allowing Lissa and Adrian to both sleep in her bed. Therefore, they concluded that Adrian would sleep on the loveseat. But they wanted to move it closer to Lissa's bed so that Christian could watch them both more easily.

I watched Christian struggle to slide the loveseat a few inches, before stopping. It was a heavy looking sofa, and the thick carpet certainly didn't make it easy to slide. I had to help.

"Let me get that," I said, stepping in. I effortlessly slid the loveseat over to the foot of Lissa's bed.

"Show off," Christian muttered under his breath.

"Thank you, Dimitri," said Lissa timidly, ever the polite one. I nodded.

"You're welcome." There was an uncomfortable amount of tension in the room, but I didn't know how to fix it, so I kept my distance and observed.

Lissa went to change into pajamas, and Adrian arranged a few of her excess throw pillows on the loveseat, trying to make it a more comfortable place to sleep. He stretched out, shifting uncomfortably.

"I hope I can sleep on this thing," he remarked to Christian. His legs from the knees down were hanging over the armrest.

"You'd better, because you're not sleeping with my girlfriend." Christian tried to use a joking tone of voice, but I could tell there was a serious undertone. I did feel bad that he was so insecure about Lissa and Adrian. It was obvious to me that he and Lissa were in love. They had the same sort of relationship that Rose and I had. It also seemed completely apparent to me that there was no attraction between Lissa and Adrian whatsoever. They were much more like a brother and sister, or cousins, as they often put it.

Lissa returned, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a ratty t-shirt that was too big for her. I recognized it as one of Rose's and wondered why she had it, but I didn't say anything. She climbed onto her bed and slid under the covers.

"Alright, let's do this," she said confidently.

"All we need to do is fall asleep," said Adrian. "Although that could be easier said than done." Christian turned out the overhead light and sat down on an armchair. I stood near him, arms folded. This was going to be a long, uneventful night.

"Lissa? Adrian?" I said.

"Yeah?" they both replied.

"Please be careful."

"I will, Dimitri," said Lissa.

"Gotcha, Belikov," replied Adrian. Somehow the tension in the room seemed to lessen. I think it was because I was actually allowing them to go ahead with their plan. The room fell silent. I stood, completely still, patiently waiting for the night to come to an end. Christian, however, couldn't stop fidgeting.

"I don't see how you can just stay still like this all the time," he whispered to me quietly.

"I've had plenty of practice," I whispered back. It was true. For every hour of battling we ever got to do as guardians, we'd probably spent a thousand hours doing absolutely nothing but observing. The key was to be ready for anything at any given second.

"Do you think they're going to find her?" he whispered to me. He sounded concerned, almost scared.

"I doubt it," I replied. "But I guess it's possible." Christian drew in a deep breath.

"Anything's possible. Especially with Rose. We all know that." He was right.

The hours passed by uneventfully. Lissa and Adrian were both sound asleep. Christian, despite his best effort to stay alert, had dozed off, his head resting against the back of the armchair. The room was silent. In three more hours, everyone would be awake again and I could go make myself some coffee.

Lissa shifted in her sleep. My eyes were on her instantly. _It's nothing, _I told myself. _People toss around in their sleep all the time. _She didn't move again for the next thirty-eight minutes. Then, she tossed again. This time, she kept tossing. First, it just seemed like normal tossing and turning. But after a few minutes, she began thrashing more violently, kicking her feet and flailing her arms. I was at her bedside in an instant.

"Lissa!" I shouted, not caring who I woke up. "LISSA!" I had to give Christian credit. He had awoken, leapt from the chair, and bolted to the other side of her bed in a matter of seconds. "LISSA!" we shouted again in unison, shaking her.

When her eyes shot open, they were blood red, gleaming. Her whole body leaned forwards, practically sitting up. I almost didn't believe what I was seeing. But the words that followed confirmed my worries.

"I WILL FIND YOU, DIMITRI! YOU WILL BE MINE!" The voice that escaped Lissa's lips wasn't hers. I would know that voice anywhere, no matter how twisted it sounded. Rose. Lissa's body collapsed back onto the bed. I was frozen in shock. Christian must've been, too.

A second later, Lissa began shrieking violently. It was really her this time. I could see her green eyes. She was screaming incoherently and crying. As soon as she realized Christian was there, she clung to him. In the meanwhile, Adrian had jolted awake and was sitting at the foot of Lissa's bed. Lissa was still shrieking. It was heart-wrenching. Christian tried desperately to console her.

Adrian looked at me coolly. "Looks like we were right, Belikov." I simply glared at him. I had to tend to the other five guardians who had stormed into the room in response to the screams.

I quickly told them that everything was alright, and that the princess had simply had a particularly bad nightmare. I told them we were staying with her because she'd confided in me that she'd been feeling particularly frightened lately. They didn't question my explanation, and soon left to resume whatever they'd been doing. Christian had helped Lissa to the bathroom, where I could now hear her choking as she vomited. I glanced at Adrian.

"You had better tell me everything that happened," I insisted sternly. He didn't object.

"Well, first I created a completely blank, white room, with absolutely nothing in it," he said. "Then I got Lissa. We waited, for a really long time, and nothing happened. I didn't think Rose was going to come. And then, out of nowhere, she was there. There was so much blackness around her… _so_ much blackness. And in like a fraction of a second, she forced a whole lot of the blackness into Lissa. I couldn't do anything to stop it. It was like she forced _herself_ into Lissa… and, well, that's when you heard her scream. The whole thing was over in a matter of seconds. I dissolved the dream as soon as I possibly could. But the bond's still there. It's definitely still there." Adrian was obviously shaken. He looked paler than usual. I was actually worried that he might start throwing up too. There were a million thoughts flying through my mind, but I had to ignore them and tend to Lissa.

I entered the bathroom. Lissa was sitting on the floor next to the toilet, barely conscious, leaning on Christian. He was wiping her face with a wet washcloth. She looked so pale and fragile. I knelt down in front of her.

"I'm okay," she managed quietly.

"I think she needs to get to a feeder," said Christian. "She's really, really weak."

"I'll carry her," I said, leaning forward to pick her up. Christian looked like he wanted to protest, but he said nothing.

"Alice is normally awake during daylight," said Adrian. "She prefers it to night time." We found Alice in the living room, watching television. She looked alarmed when she saw Lissa, and immediately exposed her neck for a feeding. Lissa gained some color afterward, and seemed a little less weak. Alice kept asking me if Lissa was okay. Even after the bite, she seemed unreasonably concerned. I assured her that Lissa would be fine, and thanked her for her help.

I took Lissa back to bed. She was going to need a lot of rest to recover, I feared. Christian crawled into bed next to her, holding her. I didn't object, because I knew they weren't doing anything inappropriate. I resumed standing in my spot against the wall. Adrian stood with me, awkwardly, not saying much. I think he was actually scared. And he had good reason.

Our suspicions were confirmed. Rose was a Strigoi. The bond still existed. And Rose was hunting me.

Now I had to find a way to stop her.


	9. Chapter 8

_A/N: Sorry it took me a few days to update. I had to go back to work for a few days. I work 12 hour shifts, so there's not much time left in the day for writing! But I only work three days a week, so you can expect updates on most of the days that I don't work. Hope you like this chapter! __ Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to all who are following!_

Chapter 8

"_I can see the patterns on your face  
I can see the miracles I trace  
Symmetry in shadows I can't hide  
I just want to be right by your side  
I will give you everything to  
Say you want to stay you want me too  
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me  
I want to know I belong to you  
Say you'll haunt me_

_Together, together we'll be together, together forever"_

_-Say You'll Haunt Me by Stone Sour_

I spent the next day weighing my options. I had an out if I wanted one. All I had to do was call up Kirova, or Alberta, or someone at the royal court who could deliver a message to the queen and tell them what had happened the night before. As soon as any of them found out that Rose was specifically after me, they would deem it unsafe for me to continue to be Lissa's guardian. Then I would be free to go hunt Rose. So, why wasn't I on the phone right now?

There were a million reasons. At the top of my list, of course, was Lissa. I was her guardian. She was Rose's best friend, and the person Rose would have wanted to protect more than anyone else on earth. But, since Rose was in fact after me, was I putting Lissa in more danger by staying close to her? There wasn't an easy answer.

I didn't think it was very likely that Rose actually knew where we were. Lissa and the others hadn't seen how we got here, so Rose couldn't have seen through her. Our charges were allowed to go outside during daylight if they wished to do so, but the house was surrounded by pine trees and rolling hills. There were no recognizable landmarks. And we were thousands of miles from the academy. We could've been almost anywhere.

But I also knew Rose well enough. Even if she still had no idea where we were, she'd find a way to figure it out eventually. It was only a matter of time. I didn't know how much time I had, but I really felt I ought to be doing something.

The other dilemma if I left would be telling Lissa, Christian and Adrian that I was leaving. Aside from the fact that I was certain it would thoroughly piss them off, I also hated to admit that I would miss them—yes, even Adrian. Keeping track of them and their crazy ideas kept me on my toes enough that I didn't have to spend every waking second suffering alone in the emptiness that was slowly swallowing me up since Rose had been taken away. If I left, then I would be on my own, and I wasn't certain I'd have the motivation to go on with the mission I knew was necessary.

Every second that I wasted was one more second that Rose was existing in a state that she never would have wanted. Who knew how many innocent lives she had already claimed! I had briefly wondered if I could take Lissa, Adrian and Christian with me. But I immediately dismissed that thought. It was selfish and incredibly irresponsible. A dhampir _guardian_ taking his three Moroi straight into the path of a Strigoi? It was not only unorthodox, it was downright dangerous. Even Rose, who was the poster child for breaking the rules, would never have considered such a preposterous idea.

I knew that Lissa, Christian and Adrian would want to come along. They weren't exactly the type to sit around quietly and wait for someone else to solve their problems. If I wasn't there to keep an eye on them, I had no way of stopping them from using compulsion to bail out of there and go searching for Rose on their own. I couldn't let that happen.

At the moment, however, Lissa wasn't in any shape to do much of anything. She'd been in bed for twelve hours, barely able to even sit up. Christian hadn't left her side. She was pale and feverish. We'd been giving her Tylenol and plenty of fluids, but I was starting to get concerned that she might need more medical attention. She insisted she was fine and just needed rest. I knew one thing for certain. I wasn't going anywhere until she was feeling better.

But I was going to try to get some sleep. Emil and Alan were on guard duty. I hadn't wanted to leave Lissa, but it was going on forty hours since I'd even tried to rest and Emil had insisted that I take a break. I didn't put up too much of an objection.

I crawled into my bed and pulled up the covers. I rested my head against my pillow and closed my eyes.

_"Roza," I breathed. She was standing before me. Her eyes were their normal deep brown, her skin pale tan, not chalky white. There was no trace of Strigoi in her. She was as dhampir as could be. I didn't want to waste a second. I stepped forward and slid my arms around her._

_ "I love you, Roza," I whispered into her ear. "More than anything in the world. You are my world." She reached up and put her hand on the side of my face. Her eyes gazed into mine, completely open and vulnerable. It was one of the rare moments when we both let our guard down. _

_ "I love you too, Dimitri. I love you so much." Her voice wavered._

_ "What is it, Roza? What's wrong?"_

_ "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. This is how it's supposed to be." She buried her face into my chest and I pressed my face against the top of her head, breathing in the intoxicating floral scent of her hair. We held onto each other so tightly. I was aware of nothing except her. My surroundings were fuzzy, I had no sense of time or place. There was only her. We stayed that way for a long time. _

_ She tilted her head up and I kissed her forehead. Then I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers. Our kiss was gentle, so full of love. There was nothing else but her. She began kissing me more passionately. I was blissfully unaware of everything except her lips, and every place our bodies were touching. She ran her fingers through my hair and down my back. She guided me back onto something—a bed, I guessed. I felt the weight of her body against me as she rested on top of me, still kissing me. I ran my hands down her sides, resting them on the small of her back, pulling her closer against me. She kissed the corner of my mouth, and kept kissing down the side of my face lightly until she reached my neck. _

_ "Roza," I breathed, my voice ragged. She kissed my neck harder. I sighed contentedly. _

_ "Oh, Dimitri." Rose's breath against my neck gave me chills. "I want you to be mine." I opened my mouth to reply when something in the atmosphere changed. My stomach twisted. The surroundings started to come into better focus. _

_ "What do you say, comrade?" I twisted uncomfortably underneath of her, but she was somehow managing to hold me down in place. Something was terribly wrong._

_ When she looked into my eyes again, hers were gleaming red. I was face to face with Rose the Strigoi. She grinned, a wicked, crazy grin. When she laughed, it wasn't her laugh—it was purely evil; a sound so miserable that I wanted to cover my ears. Her fangs were inches from me. She leaned down to my ear and whispered._

_ "When I awaken you, we will spend eternity together. You and me, comrade. There will be no stopping us." _

_ I opened my mouth to protest, but I couldn't speak. I tried desperately to throw her off of me, but I couldn't move. I was completely paralyzed. Her laugh echoed loudly through my mind._

_ "You can't hide from me, comrade. I'll be paying you a visit sooner than you think. And trust me, you're going to enjoy it." _

_ In an instant, I recognized our surroundings as my own room at the house—I was in the bed where I'd just fallen asleep. _

_ I felt her fangs sink into my neck. With every ounce of my strength I tried to force her off of me._

I hit the floor with a thud, still forcefully kicking my legs and flailing my arms. I ripped my blanket off of me and immediately felt my neck. There was no bite. As reality hit me, I leapt to my feet.

Somehow, Rose knew where I was. The dream had taken place in this very room. She said she'd be paying me a visit. Who knew how close she already was? I only knew one thing.

I had to get out of there, as quickly as possible.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"_It's your right and your ability  
to become my perfect enemy…"_

_-Passive by A Perfect Circle_

Adrenaline was pumping through my body as I paced back and forth formulating a plan. One way or another, I was getting out of this house as soon as possible. Rose could not come here. I couldn't let her get that close to Lissa and the others. My mind was made up.

I tried to give myself a moment to rationalize. Maybe my dream had been just that—a dream. Maybe it was all just in my own head. After all, I wasn't a Moroi spirit user. It made sense that Rose could have been in a dream with Lissa or Adrian, but me? All I knew for certain is that it had _felt_ real. And at the moment, that was enough for me.

I called a meeting of all the guardians at the house, forcing myself to remain calm and collected. I'd never been a very good liar, but I was about to lie through my teeth and hope that everyone bought it.

"I've been asked by the queen to pay a visit to the royal court," I told the other guardians in my most professional and authoritative voice. "She's requested my presence for something. I haven't been given details yet." The other guardians nodded in acknowledgement. They didn't seem suspicious.

"How long do you expect to be away?" asked Seth.

"I expect a few days," I replied. "I trust you'll all be fine while I'm gone."

"Of course, Guardian Belikov," said Clara. "We'll keep things running smoothly while you're away."

"Excellent," I replied. "I have no doubt that things will be just fine." If only they knew that that statement was a bold-faced lie.

"I'd be happy to look after the princess as well as Christian while you're away," volunteered Alan. "They spend nearly all their time together anyway."

"I'll also help to look after her," said Emil. "We'll make sure she's feeling better soon." All of the other guardians thought that Lissa had come down with a stomach bug. They were concerned because Moroi rarely ever get sick. I felt a stab of guilt. Here I was, lying to my colleagues, to guardians who dutifully did their jobs to the best of their abilities, who would gladly give their lives to protect Lissa, Adrian, Christian, or any other Moroi. They were completely devoted to their work, and trusted my story without question.

"Will they be sending transportation for you, Guardian Belikov?" asked Melanie. It was true that, under normal circumstances, the royal court would've probably sent someone to pick me up. Thankfully, I'd already thought of this.

"No, the queen requested that I drive there myself. She wants me to arrive as quickly as possible. It must be some sort of urgent matter." We had two vehicles parked in the garage of the house. Neither had been used since we'd arrived, but they were for emergencies. One was a van large enough to transport everyone—I'd leave that behind for them, of course. The other vehicle that I'd be taking was a black Honda Accord. It was perfect because it wouldn't draw any attention. "I'll take the car and leave the van for you all of course, just in case."

"That sounds like a plan," said Seth. "Perhaps the queen has news involving the princess and the bond."

"Perhaps," I agreed, feeling worse than ever about my lies. We dismissed, and the guardians went back to their respective duties. Now for the more difficult part—telling the Moroi.

"What do you mean, you're leaving for a few days?" Christian demanded. We were all seated in Lissa's bedroom. She was sitting up on her bed, looking a little better than she had earlier. It made me feel slightly less guilty about leaving.

"I'm sorry. They've requested that I go to the royal court for a few days," I said. It was much more difficult to lie to them than it was to the guardians. I hoped I sounded convincing.

"That's strange, my aunt hasn't said anything," said Adrian, but his tone simply sounded curious, not accusatory. I hoped he wouldn't check in with her until I was long gone.

"How can you leave when Lissa's still sick?" demanded Christian.

"I'll be fine," Lissa chimed in weakly. "I've been getting better. Besides, Dimitri needs to go. It's not his fault." Christian glared at me, but didn't say anything further.

"Hey, I offered to heal her, but you wouldn't let me," Adrian said to Christian. I was glad for the change in subject.

"I don't know if it's safe," Christian replied. "We don't really know exactly what Rose did to her."

"I'm fine! I don't need healed!" Lissa spoke a bit more forcefully, sounding annoyed. She turned to me. "Dimitri, I promise I will be okay while you're gone. Just go and do whatever they've asked you to do. Don't worry about me. Please."

"Thank you, Lissa," I said, grateful for her cooperation, although I felt like I was taking advantage of her. "Well, I've got to be going as soon as possible, so I guess this is goodbye."

"See you soon, Guardian Belikov," said Adrian.

"Bye," said Christian, shortly.

"Take care, Dimitri. We'll see you when you get back," said Lissa. I walked over and gave her a hug. It might've been a weird gesture, but I was her guardian, and honestly, I wasn't entirely sure when I'd see her again. She hugged me, not seeming to find it strange at all.

"Be careful," she said to me. "After all, Rose is out there somewhere."

"I will," I assured her. "And you all be safe and follow orders while I'm gone. Do not try anything stupid." I eyed Christian and Adrian, who both nodded. I could only hope that they would listen to me. "Alright then, goodbye." I walked to the doorway, glancing back at the three of them. I lingered a moment longer than I should have. Who knew when—or if—I'd ever see them again? The sadness crept up on me suddenly and I turned and walked away.

Things were settled. I'd told my cover story. I'd said my goodbyes. All that was left to do was grab my belongings and go. In my room, I pulled my suitcase from the closet. I grabbed handfuls of clothing, not paying too much attention to what they were. I grabbed my necessary belongings from the bathroom, tossed in a few of my paperbacks and zipped up the luggage. I pulled on my leather duster, making sure I placed my wallet in my pocket. I grabbed my cell phone and stuffed it into the other pocket. I rolled my suitcase down the stairs, unlocked the safe in the hall where we kept the car keys locked up, took the keys to the Accord, and headed for the garage.

I stashed my suitcase in the trunk of the car, hopped in, backed out and headed down the long drive to the front gate. I got out and punched in the security code. The gate opened, and I drove the car through.

That was it. I'd left. I was outside of the wards. I'd just lied to everyone, made up a completely untrue story, and left the Moroi I'd sworn to protect. In all likelihood, my guardian career was over. It was hard to tell where I'd go or what would happen next. I was a rogue dhampir on a nearly impossible mission. I had probably two days at best before everyone realized that I'd lied. That was when the house was due for another visit from the royal court for supplies. I'd probably be lucky if no one figured it out before then. But only one thing mattered now. I needed to destroy Rose before she got near Lissa. I would do whatever it took to get to her and kill her.

The car had a full tank of gas, which was great, because I wanted to put some distance between myself and the house. We really were in the middle of nowhere. I drove for forty minutes before I came across a small town. Thankfully, there was a bank. I stopped at the ATM and withdrew all of my money from my checking account. It was a fair amount. If I needed to make any purchases, I wanted them to be in cash rather than with a card that could be tracked. Eventually I would ditch the car and my cell phone too, but I had a little time.

I drove a little farther, finally reaching a highway. I headed northeast—which was the opposite direction of the royal court. I really didn't have much to go on. Rose could've been anywhere. But Strigoi normally lingered in cities, where it was easier to pick off victims. And we weren't too terribly far from a very large city, which would be a place to start. It would be easy for me to disappear there too, amongst the crowds of people.

I was headed for New York.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_A/N: This is a pretty dark chapter, but I think Dimitri needed to acknowledge all the pain of losing Rose. Please read and review! _

"_Wish I was too dead to cry  
My self-affliction fades  
Stones to throw at my creator  
Masochists to which I cater  
You don't need to bother;  
I don't need to be  
I'll keep slipping farther  
But once I hold on,  
I won't let go 'til it bleeds"_

_-Bother by Stone Sour_

I was getting too tired to drive much longer. The hour of sleep I'd gotten when I had the dream of Rose hadn't done much to revive me. I was going to need to be fully rested for what lie ahead. Most hotels would want a credit card, which I wasn't willing to give, since I didn't want anyone tracking me down. Thankfully, I found a little rundown place along the interstate that was probably mostly used by truckers. They took cash.

My room was a little shabby, but livable. I didn't need much. Plus it was only for the night. I brought my luggage inside and sat it on the floor. I sat down on the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands. What was I even _doing_? _Chill, Belikov, _I told myself. _This is no time for a breakdown. _I took a few deep breaths. I needed to get my act together. After all, if anyone could track down Rose and stop her, it was me.

My growling stomach startled me. I realized that I hadn't eaten anything in about fourteen hours. I remembered seeing a little diner just in front of the motel. I decided to walk over and get something to eat.

The diner looked a bit run-down, but seemed clean. The smell of food enticed me, and suddenly all I could think about was how much I wanted a bacon cheeseburger and a huge pile of French fries. I settled into a red vinyl booth. Thinking of food reminded me of Rose. A cheeseburger and fries was definitely her style. She loved to eat. Well—she _used_ to. I supposed now she just liked to drink. Blood.

My thoughts were distracted by the waitress. She was a young girl—probably in her early twenties—with frizzy blonde hair, too much eye shadow, and bright red lipstick. She flirted shamelessly with me.

"Hi there, handsome. What can I get you tonight?" She leaned much closer than necessary. She smelled like cigarettes and cheap perfume. I tried to be polite without appearing interested. I didn't want to give the poor girl the wrong idea.

"I'll just have a bacon cheeseburger and French fries," I said. "And a regular coffee, please."

"Coming right up." She winked at me before walking away. She wasn't an ugly girl, by any stretch. I think she tried much too hard with all the makeup and flirtation, but she was pretty. In that moment, as she walked away, I realized what I had known all along. There would never be any other girl for me but Rose. No one else would ever even begin to compare. I would spend the rest of my life alone—not that I knew how much longer my life was going to last. It might be better to die sooner, rather than later. I couldn't imagine living out a long, healthy life without Roza. Even the thought was too painful to cope with.

Emotion was welling up within me. I was angry. What did I do to deserve to be alone forever? Why was my one true love ripped away from me? How dare that waitress think she could flirt with me? How could she possibly think I would ever be interested in her when I'd had the most beautiful girl on the face of the earth and I'd lost her? Did she think she could compare? How dare she? My fists were clenched so tightly they were shaking. The waitress returned with my cup of coffee.

"Would you like cream?" she asked.

"No!" I snapped without meaning to. Her eyes grew wide and she walked away without another word. _Christ, Belikov, you're losing it, _I thought to myself. _No, scratch that, you've got nothing left to lose. _I pounded my fist down on the table, causing my silverware and coffee mug to rattle loudly. A few other patrons glared at me, others looked a bit alarmed. I scoffed and stared down at the table top. I pressed my eyes closed.

How much could one person be expected to deal with? _People lose loved ones all the time, _I reminded myself. _You're not the only one. Quit wallowing. _But other people's loved ones weren't Rose! And other people's loved ones didn't turn into evil, undead vampires! Normal people didn't have to go out and kill their loved ones themselves! _You chose this, Belikov. You wanted to do this solo. You're honoring her wish. _My internal monologue was making me crazy!

I deliberately glared at a middle-aged couple who wouldn't stop staring at me. Why couldn't people mind their own business? Why care about the deranged looking guy sitting in the corner booth who looks ready to either kill someone or kill himself? I picked up my fork, trying to occupy my hands. I looked down a moment later and realized that I had bent it completely in half.

The waitress slipped my plate of food onto the table without a word, probably hoping not to disturb me. I gobbled the food down hungrily, not caring how it tasted, or how I looked. Suddenly, I didn't want to be around people anymore. I needed to be outside. I needed fresh air. I felt suffocated, and the eyes on me weren't helping.

I yanked my wallet out of my pocket and tossed a twenty down on the table.

"Keep the change," I muttered to the waitress as I made my way to the exit. Outside I drew in some deep breaths. I couldn't do this. I couldn't take it. I had held in my emotions for so long for the sake of everyone else, and I just couldn't do it a minute longer. Something inside of me had snapped.

I walked back towards the motel, fighting back tears. The pain felt like a thousand pound weight on my chest. I couldn't live without her. She was my life.

"Why?" I cried out, falling to my knees on a stretch of sidewalk. There was no one around to hear me scream. "Why?" I buried my face in my hands and cried—not just a few tears like before. I broke down, sobbing so hard I was gasping for breath.

It was chilly outside and I hadn't worn my coat. I didn't care. I have no idea how long I spent on the ground. I didn't have the strength or the will within me to move. My mind wandered to the loaded gun that was sitting in my motel room. I had an escape. I could end it all.

No, no, I couldn't give myself freedom while Rose was still trapped. Maybe—maybe after I killed her… And then, if there was some sort of afterlife; if this universe contained some sort of merciful god—which I sincerely doubted these days—maybe one day Roza and I would be together again.

How could there be a God? How could any almighty being allow this to happen? Roza didn't deserve this! She deserved so much better. She deserved the world. I pounded my fists against the sidewalk in anger, over and over. The sobbing continued. Finally I noticed that my hands were both scraped open and bleeding.

I dragged myself to my feet and stumbled back to my motel room. I was beyond exhausted. How many hours had it been since I'd gotten sleep? I wasn't counting the dream with Rose. That was anything but restful. I knew I needed to go to bed.

But when I got outside, I took out my gun and stared at it. I ran my hands over the cool metal. I placed the barrel against my head and closed my eyes. I stood that way for a long, long time.

Finally, I put the gun away, kicked off my shoes, and crawled into bed. I was truly, completely crazy. Too exhausted to cry anymore, I pressed my eyes closed and waited for sleep. I found a small part of me—a sick and twisted part of me—hoping that Rose would provide me with another dream tonight. Strigoi or not, I was absolutely desperate to see her. Suddenly I couldn't think of anything else. I _needed_ her more than anything else in the world. My Roza.

When I woke, I realized that I hadn't dreamt at all. Slowly, memories of the night before came back to me. I felt like an idiot. How had I allowed myself to reach such a low? I'd contemplated suicide. How could I have been so pathetically weak? I really needed to remember to sleep more and eat regularly.

Thankfully, I was feeling a good bit better since I'd slept. I was a little disturbed that I was slightly disappointed by the lack of dreams, but I was ready to get back on board with my mission.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I hit the road again. I was ready to put this breakdown behind me. I was ready to get out there and find her.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"_Open up the sun and burn my eyes  
Open up your arms and save my life  
I know I'll never go home again  
I need a little more but I will take what I can get  
I promise you everything... everything  
Just don't forget me in the end"_

_-Pieces by Stone Sour_

I had yet to encounter any Strigoi in New York City. It had been two days since I'd ditched the car, smashed my cell phone, and taken the subway to Manhattan. I forked over quite a bit of cash for a fake ID from a contact I knew in the city through guardian connections. We occasionally had to go under cover in our line of work. Thankfully, as long as you have the money, they don't ask questions.

I now had a Pennsylvania driver's license stating that I was a Mr. Alexander Volkov and a credit card with the same name. I was grateful for the Russian name, which was sure to make my fake identity more convincing. The hotel where I was staying was in midtown—right in the heart of the city that never sleeps. I knew there had to be Strigoi lurking around. I just hadn't spotted any yet.

Maybe my approach was wrong. I was staying at a decent, though not five-star hotel. I'd been sleeping—as much as I was able—during the day. I spent the nights out on the street, armed with my stake and a gun. It was difficult to remain inconspicuous with my height, so I'd taken to pretending I was homeless, and sitting hunched down on the sidewalk against various buildings, watching the people go by.

The first night, I'd tried three different spots, and had only seen humans—no Moroi, dhampirs, or Strigoi. The second night, I tried a new spot, down the block from the entrance to a nightclub that seemed to attract humans who were dressed in a gothic style. I wasn't expecting to find any vampires there—it seemed too cliché—but I was unfamiliar with the area and unsure where else to go.

I was only there about forty-five minutes when I saw a group of Moroi and their guardians coming up the block from the other direction. They were waiting to get into the nightclub. They weren't anyone I recognized, but they must've been royal, because they had four guardians for four Moroi. The Moroi appeared to be two young couples—younger than me, probably. They were all well-dressed in a classy style that didn't seem to match the other nightclub patrons. The four guardians—all men—were dressed simply in all black. They didn't notice me, but I was thrilled at the sight of Moroi and dhampirs. If Moroi came here, then it was likely that Strigoi came looking for them, which meant that I might be one step closer to finding Rose.

I waited for hours uneventfully. The couples hadn't reemerged from the nightclub yet. I wasn't going to go inside, because I knew that Strigoi wouldn't be in there. They'd be waiting outside in the shadows. Sort of like I was. I wasn't even sure what I would do if I did find a Strigoi. I knew I needed to keep it alive long enough to see if it knew Rose. But at the moment all I really wanted to do was stake something.

A fight would be a great way to take out some of my frustrations. Normally, guardians wouldn't wish for a fight. But normally we had Moroi to protect. At the moment, I wasn't protecting anyone. I would've gladly staked a dozen Strigoi if given the opportunity. But that opportunity wasn't coming tonight.

I waited. And waited. Finally, the Moroi couples left the club. They headed down the block the same way that they'd come. I kept a close eye on them. Two of their guardians had noticed me, but didn't seem to consider me a threat. They all climbed into a limo that was parked down the block and were gone. I was unreasonably disappointed by the lack of action. Frustrated, I stood and proceeded to wander around until sunrise, aimlessly walking through the streets. I found nothing.

Finally, feeling dejected, I returned to my hotel room, climbed under the covers, and fell asleep. I felt myself being pulled into a dream. _Roza_, I thought sleepily.

_ But the dream wasn't of Rose. It was Adrian—a very irate Adrian._

_ "You lied to us!" he bellowed, charging towards me. He shoved me as hard as he could in the chest, but I didn't even stumble. Luckily for him, I didn't fight back. He continued yelling at me, and the entire background of the dream—which looked like the yard space outside of the house—flickered repeatedly and grew faint. I guessed he was having trouble concentrating. "You said you were going to the royal court! My aunt never even sent for you! Everyone is freaking out wondering where you are! Where the fuck are you?" He was inches from my face._

_ "I can't tell you that," I replied calmly. _

_ "The hell you can't!" I knew what he was about to try, but I was quick. I punched him. Square in the jaw. He fell backwards, grabbing onto his face._

_ "Ouch! What the hell?"_

_ "Don't you even think about trying to compel me, Ivashkov. That's _nothing _in comparison to what I could do to you." My voice was like ice._

_ He remained sitting down, clutching his face._

_ "Fine. Why'd you leave?"_

_ "I think you can figure out why I left."_

_ "So you could find Rose? Why wouldn't you bring us along? Did you ever think that we might be able to help you?"_

_ "I can't put you all in that danger."_

_ "What if we're willing to be in that danger?"_

_ "Adrian, I've made my decision. I am handling this myself."_

_ "Oh yeah? And how's that working out for you? Great, I bet." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "She came back to Lissa in a dream again, you know. I wasn't even there this time. Lissa's even weaker now." _

_ "Did Rose say anything that might be of importance?" I asked, suddenly forgetting that I was angry with Adrian._

_ "Lissa said that she wanted to know where you were, and that she was going to find you."_

_ "I haven't seen her yet."_

_ "I'm sure she'll find you, Belikov. If you tell me where you are, I'll direct her there." There was a hint of seriousness in his snarky attitude._

_ "I can't tell you that," I insisted._

_ "The guardians are pissed, you know," Adrian said. "I've overheard things. Apparently you no longer have a job. You're probably going to be charged with endangering a Moroi because you left Lissa. If they find you alive. Most people figure that Rose probably found you by now and that you're dead."_

_ "Let them think that," I said. "It'll be easier for me to find her if I don't have a bunch of people trying to track me down."_

_ "I don't give a shit what happens to you, Belikov. You might as well be dead to me. I still can't believe you lied to us all and left."_

_ "You're well protected at the house," I said. "The danger of Rose is never going to go away until someone finds her and stops her. I am doing more good by being out here searching for her than I was sitting there doing nothing. Besides, if she is after me, and I'm near all of you, then I'm leading her right to Lissa. Lissa is safer when I am away."_

_ "What makes you think we're still at the house?" asked Adrian. _

_ "What? You left?" I demanded, ready to punch him again._

_ "No, but we could if we wanted to. Especially now that we're not guarded by your godly presence."_

_ "You'd all just better stay where you are. For your own safety, please…" I tried to continue talking, but the dream was dissolving away. _

"Housekeeping!" Someone was knocking on my hotel room door.

"No thank you!" I called sleepily. _Damn it! _Rose had disturbed Lissa in a dream again, I was definitely without a job, and Adrian was threatening to get Lissa and the others leave the safety of the house. And I had just punched Adrian Ivashkov in the face. I did have to admit, that felt pretty good.

Sunlight was still pouring through my window. There were a lot more hours to go before I could be out hunting Strigoi again, so I tried to fall back to sleep. Hoping not to have another encounter with Adrian, I drifted off.

_I saw her only for a second. We were standing on the sidewalk outside of the nightclub where I had been sitting the night before. Rose stood about ten yards from me, her red eyes gleaming. A twisted smile spread across her lips._

_ "New York, comrade? You're getting closer." She winked, and the dream dissolved. _

When I awoke again, the sun was setting. I hurriedly got ready to hit the streets again. Rose said I was getting closer, but I still wasn't close enough. I had to find her—and kill her—before Adrian, Lissa and Christian decided to get in the way. The clock was ticking.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_A/N: There's some action in this chapter. Dimitri finally has a Strigoi encounter. Hope you enjoy! Please review! (:_

When I began my night, I immediately headed for the street where I'd seen Roza in the dream. I was determined. I was ready to take down anything in my path. I walked with confidence, my every sense alert to the slightest sound or movement. This was all going to be over with soon. I could feel the tension in the air. Something was going to happen tonight.

I'd only walked about a block when I sensed someone following me. The streets were crowded with people, so I couldn't spot my follower, but I knew it was one of them. Maybe it was _her_. I needed to get to somewhere with fewer people. I made an abrupt turn down a street where there was scarcely anyone around. I kept a brisk pace, keenly aware of my follower.

I spotted him in my peripheral vision. It was a man—definitely Strigoi. He was much shorter than me; likely human or dhampir before he'd turned. So, it definitely wasn't Rose. He seemed to be alone—but I would proceed cautiously. It was impossible to know if he had backup lingering somewhere.

He was quite a few yards behind me. I saw an alley up ahead. Being sure that the Strigoi saw me, I deliberately stepped into it, yanking out my stake as soon as I disappeared into the shadows.

When the Strigoi attacked me a millisecond later, I was ready. I dodged the first blow completely, anticipating how he would attack me. I had a straight shot at his heart, but didn't take it. I wanted to talk to this Strigoi alive if I could.

He fought me with quick reflexes, but lack of skill. This was clearly a new Strigoi. He grabbed for my arm, but I got out of his reach while he was still inches away, and I immediately delivered a sharp kick to his stomach, cracking a few ribs and causing him to fall and bash his head against the brick wall. This wouldn't cause any permanent damage to a Strigoi, but it would stall him momentarily. I moved in over him, silver stake grasped firmly in my hands. I plunged the stake into his shoulder. He cried out. Silver was very painful to Strigoi. I didn't waste any time.

"Do you know Rose Hathaway?" I demanded. The Strigoi growled incoherently as a dragged the silver stake across his skin. "Do you know Rose Hathaway?" I demanded more forcefully.

"No," answered the Strigoi. I was losing my power over him. Any second he was going to jump back up and start fighting again. I should've staked him while I had the opportunity, but I pressed on.

"Don't lie to me!" I shouted, and I slashed the stake across his face. He cried out again.

"You're Dimitri Belikov," said the Strigoi.

"That's right, I am," I replied, pulling the stake across the Strigoi's cheek. His scream was painfully shrill. "What do you know about me?"

"She's after you. She wants to awaken you. Just like she awakened me." So this was one of Rose's victims—a very new Strigoi. "I could save her the trouble." The Strigoi flashed his fangs. I slashed the stake across his forehead.

"Where is Rose?" I demanded.

"You don't have to find Rose. She's coming to find you. She knows where you are." The Strigoi shoved forward suddenly, regaining his strength and nearly knocking me over. I was a bit surprised for a new Strigoi, but he was no match for me. Like a flash of lightening, I stabbed my stake into his heart and he crumpled to the ground.

I removed my stake, keeping it ready in my hand. I didn't sense anyone else around. But I needed to contact the alchemists to remove this body before it drew attention.

I had a cheap, prepaid cell phone I'd picked up upon smashing my old one. I only kept a few numbers, but one was a New York contact for the Alchemists. I'd figured I'd be needing it at some point. Stepping a few yards away, I pulled out the phone and dialed the number.

"Sydney Sage, alchemist." The voice that answered the phone sounded like a girl who couldn't have been more than twelve. I wondered for a brief second if I had the correct number. She'd said alchemist.

"Hello, Miss Sage. I'm a guardian. I have a dead Strigoi to report." Sydney Sage sounded a little less than enthusiastic at hearing this news.

"Very well. And what is the location of the body?" she asked, her tone very professional. I gave her the name of the street.

"Thank you for reporting, sir. I'll take care of it shortly."

"Thank you." I replied. Sydney Sage hung up the phone. I should have gotten out of there, as I didn't want to be spotted or recognized. Who knew if this Sage girl was going to be looking for identification? I could give her my fake ID, but that name certainly wasn't going to turn up in any database of guardians. I should've just left. But the thought of a girl with that little twelve-year-old's voice coming out here all alone late at night to dispose of a Strigoi body seemed unsafe to me, and I couldn't just leave her alone. What if another Strigoi came along? I waited around.

It wasn't more than fifteen minutes before I saw a car pull into the alley. A petite girl with light blonde hair climbed out. She was wearing dress pants and a cable knit sweater, which looked very professional, but as she approached I could see that she had a very child-like face. She couldn't have been more than Rose's age. I felt badly for calling her out so late.

"Hello, Miss Sage," I said to her.

"Hi," she said, very timidly, keeping her distance from me. I knew alchemists weren't fond of Moroi, dhampirs or Strigoi. We were all considered evil and unnatural to them. But Sydney seemed particularly apprehensive. I stayed back and watched as she approached the Strigoi body and cringed. From her purse, she pulled out a small vial. She dispensed its contents over the Strigoi's body, and a moment later the whole thing dissolved in a cloud of yellow smoke.

"Thank you for contacting me, sir," she said, obviously nervous to be speaking with me. I nodded to her.

"Thank you for coming out at this time of night."

"Just doing my job," she replied.

"Don't be surprised if I call again sometime soon," I said. "I'm sort of onto something." Sydney looked a little unnerved by this news.

"Alright," she said, climbing into her car.

"Have a good evening, Miss Sage."

"You too," she said quietly, starting the engine to her car and taking off as though she couldn't get out of there fast enough. At least she'd gotten away safely. A little human girl like that wouldn't stand a chance against a Strigoi. I watched as she backed out of the alley and drove off.

For the briefest of moments, I hadn't had my full attention on my surroundings. The next thing I knew, I was slammed up against the wall by a Strigoi. I immediately reacted by fighting back. While battling the first Strigoi, I noticed that two more had moved in. One was a female. Her hair was light though—not Rose.

I staked the first Strigoi. This group of them seemed like they were new too. The next two moved in on me at once.

"Don't kill him! Rose wants him alive!" the woman shrieked.

"I don't care what she wants. I'm thirsty."

"Ooh, she's gonna rip your head off!" the girl said sounded half excited about the idea. As it turned out, Rose wouldn't have to rip this Strigoi's head off. I got a clear shot at his heart and staked him.

I'd underestimated the woman. She was tiny and moved fast. She shoved me back against the wall and nearly knocked me over. But I kept fighting. I wanted to talk to her alive, too.

After I got her to the ground, I scraped the stake over her skin like I had done to the other Strigoi earlier. She screamed and cried. I needed to make this fast. If anyone saw a man holding down a screaming woman in an alley—well—it was easy to guess what they'd assume.

"Do you know where Rose is?" I demanded.

"What makes you think I'd tell you?" I struggled to keep her pinned down.

"She's looking for me, so I hear. I thought I'd do her a favor and come to her. You might as well tell me. You're not getting out of this alive." I pressed the stake superficially over the Strigoi's heart. It was enough to scare her.

"She'll awaken you too. It's amazing, being awakened." Rose had awakened this Strigoi too? What was she doing?

"You're not answering my question." I growled, pressing harder on the stake.

"Okay—okay! She's outside of the city—in an old mansion—"

"Where?" I demanded. The Strigoi spit out an address, which I immediately committed to memory.

I gave her the satisfaction of thinking she was getting away. But no sooner than she'd gotten back on her feet, I lunged forward, attacking again. I drove my stake through her heart.

High on adrenaline, I began moving briskly back towards my hotel. I had an address. I knew where Rose was! I'd made an unbelievable amount of progress. I didn't care that I was bruised and scraped from taking on four Strigoi. All I cared about was getting to where Rose was.

Halfway back, I realized that I'd never called the alchemist girl. I found the number in my phone and pressed call. Sydney Sage didn't sound pleased in the slightest over the news of three more Strigoi bodies. Nonetheless, she agreed to come by and take care of them as soon as possible. I didn't go back to watch her this time. Maybe I should have, but I was in too much of a hurry. Besides, I could tell I made her uncomfortable.

I wanted to go back to my hotel and check out immediately, so I could head for Rose. But it was nearly 3 am. Plus, as I walked back, I could feel that my body was tired, despite the alertness of my mind. I would catch a few hours of sleep first. Then I'd be on my way. This was it. In a few short hours, Rose and I would be face to face.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I was having a very difficult time trying to sleep. All of the events from the last day seemed surreal. First, the dream with Adrian—although I should have expected as much sooner or later. Then the brief dream with Rose, acknowledging that she somehow knew where I was. And then, not one, but two Strigoi attacks. And I had an address.

As I tossed and turned, I felt nauseated. This was what I wanted, right? I was about to find Rose and kill her. I would free her from this unnatural state of being. She'd already created at least four Strigoi. And I suspected there were more. My Roza would be horrified by her actions. She would much rather be dead than bring harm to others. Still, I couldn't imagine destroying her—driving a stake through her heart. My Roza. Could I exist in a world where she didn't? Could I be the one who removed her from this earth? Undead or not, I wasn't sure if I could handle it. But I had to. We'd made a promise. No matter how difficult, I intended to honor it.

I actually got to thinking about the Strigoi I'd staked—something that I had taught myself not to do a very long time ago. I wondered who they'd been and how Rose had found them. I wondered if they'd wanted to be turned or if Rose had simply attacked them. I'd never known a new Strigoi to go around making more new Strigoi. Usually, humans worked for Strigoi for years just for a chance at immortality. And more often and not they ended up dead rather than awakened. Rose must've been up to something.

At some point, my mind must've surrendered to my tired body, because I fell into a deep sleep.

_"Thought you'd take out some of my little minions, did you?" Rose's unnatural Strigoi voice filled my ears. "That's alright. I'll make more." She smirked. We were standing in the alleyway where I'd been attacked earlier. How had she risen through the Strigoi ranks so quickly? It didn't make sense._

_ "I'm coming to put an end to this," I said to her, uncertain why I was saying anything. She laughed, and it rattled me._

_ "Think what you want, comrade." She strolled towards me, moonlight falling upon her as she walked. She was dressed in a very form-fitting black dress and stiletto heels. Her hair hung loosely and billowed out behind her in the breeze. In the dim lighting she looked almost dhampir again. I couldn't tell that her eyes were red or that her skin was pale. She looked like my Roza._

_ I tried to reach for my stake, as she sauntered towards me slowly. But I quickly found that I was paralyzed. I had no choice but to watch as she neared me, her eyes staring straight into mine. She came so, so close. She was inches from my face, and I couldn't move, or even try to move. _

_ "I'm so thirsty," she whispered seductively. It made me want to cringe. "None of the others taste very good. But you, my love, I can't wait to taste you." She raked her fingernails across my neck. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest but I couldn't do anything in response. I wasn't even able to speak anymore. I wondered desperately if she could actually turn me into a Strigoi in a dream. This might be the end of it all._

_ She leaned her head in very close to me. I felt her breath on my ear. _

_ "It won't be long now, comrade. Just wait until you're awakened. Then we'll be together forever. You and me." She ran her hand down over my chest. "Together we'll be unstoppable." I felt her lips brush against my neck. No! The voice in my head was screaming. But I was completely frozen. I heard her laugh in my ear._

_ "You're scared, comrade? I didn't think you ever got scared." Her tone mocked me. "There's no reason to be scared. It only hurts a little. I promise." She raked her fangs against my neck, teasingly, not even breaking the skin. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I had to find a way out of there! Rose chuckled again, as though she could read my thoughts._

_ "Oh, is big, bad, godly Dimitri afraid of his little Roza?" she asked mockingly. "That's alright. You're safe—for now." She leaned closer to my ear again. "Now don't you take your time coming to find me. I won't be patient much longer." And with that, the dream dissolved away._

_ I was immediately pulled into another dream. Honestly? Couldn't I just sleep? _

_ Adrian stood before me. He didn't look angry this time—he looked downright scared. We were back in the yard of the house again. I hoped that meant they were still there._

_ "Belikov, I'm worried about Lissa!" he blurted out, before I had a chance to speak._

_ "Why? What's wrong?" I demanded._

_ "Rose. She keeps coming to Lissa's dreams all the time. We've got no idea how to stop it. I've tried everything I can think of, but nothing works. I can't even pull Lissa into a different dream when Rose has her. She's trapped. Christian's losing his mind with worry." I frowned. This was horrible news._

_ "I'm onto Rose. Give me a day or two and I should have this worked out."_

_ "I don't know if we have a day or two, Belikov. You should see Lissa. She looks like hell. It's like Rose takes all of her energy. She's exhausted and so sick. She's vowed to stay awake so that Rose can't get to her. But she's not going to make it much longer." I could hear the desperation in Adrian's voice. I knew he wouldn't have come to me unless he didn't know what else to do. _

_ Unfortunately, aside from stopping Rose, I didn't know what to do either. _

_ "Look, as soon as I wake up, I am going to find her. I have an address and everything. I can fix this today," I said, wondering if that were really true. _

_ "Please try," begged Adrian. "We can't lose Lissa."_

_ "No, of course not. We won't," I vowed. I couldn't imagine allowing the Strigoi who had once been my Roza destroy her best friend. "Just do whatever you can to keep Lissa as well as possible. Make sure she visits the feeders and tries to eat. Hopefully by the end of the day this nightmare will be over."_

_ "I hope so. Shit, you're waking up…" Adrian began to dissolve away from me, and I heard a distant ringing. _

When I regained consciousness, I realized the ringing was the cell phone sitting on my nightstand. Puzzled, I reached for it. No one knew the number to that phone. Who on earth could've been calling? I glanced down at the screen. Alchemist.

Why was Sydney Sage calling me? Maybe she was onto who I was. Maybe they were coming to arrest me for failing to protect Lissa. I couldn't let that happen now. Not before I got to Rose! If they caught me, everything would be ruined.

I decided to ignore the phone and not answer it. It rang three more times. Finally, Sydney left a voicemail. I decided to listen to it, all the while gathering up my belongings and tossing them haphazardly into my suitcase. I needed to get out of here. But what I heard on the voicemail stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Hi, there. This is Sydney Sage," she spoke in barely above a whisper and her voice was trembling. I could tell something was wrong. "I—I met with you earlier but I didn't get your name. I—I need your… help. I've been—I've been captured. By them." Shit! She didn't need to elaborate on who she meant by them. "Please… I don't know anyone else who can help me… I'm in an abandoned building… a warehouse, I think, in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn." She described the building, very briefly. I wondered to myself how I would ever find it. I heard some noise in the background. "I have to go… please help me." The message ended.

What the hell was going on? Why had Strigoi captured Sydney, and how the hell did she have the chance to use her phone to contact me? Damn it! I needed to get to Rose. But I couldn't just leave Sydney Sage with Strigoi who I knew would certainly kill her. Sure, she was a stranger and a human, but she wasn't just any human. She was an alchemist. Alchemists devoted their lives to helping Moroi and dhampirs. Plus, she was just a young girl. The guardian in me couldn't ignore her pleas for help.

As I hurriedly gathered the rest of my things, my mind was going on overdrive. I was sure that the Strigoi who'd captured Sydney had to know Rose. It would just be too coincidental otherwise. So what were they trying to do? Was I being set up? Maybe Rose was trying to lead me to her even more quickly. That would make perfect sense! Brooklyn was much closer than the address I'd been given by the Strigoi earlier.

If all went well, I could save Sydney and destroy Rose before the day was over. I strolled out of the hotel into the bright afternoon sun. I descended the stairs into the subway. I was on my way to Brooklyn.

_A/N: And now things really start to get interesting. I hope you're all enjoying the story. There will be more coming soon. This story has been so much fun to write. If you're enjoying it, please review! (: I'd really appreciate it. And a big thank you to all of you who have been reviewing! It means a lot to me! (:_


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The whole time I was riding the subway, my nerves were on edge. What if I couldn't help Sydney in time? What if I couldn't stop Rose before she killed Lissa? Everything depended on me finding the building where the Strigoi had Sydney. And, if my instincts were correct, then I would find Rose there too.

The subway was crowded and the ride was taking forever. I was feeling claustrophobic and kept fidgeting. I was still armed with my stake and gun, of course, and being in such close proximity to all these humans, I was worried someone would notice. I also still had my luggage. Even though it was only a small carry-on, it was awkward to cart around and I was going to have to leave it behind somewhere—probably in the subway station when I got off in Brooklyn. Thankfully, my duster had an amazing amount of pocket space. And, aside from my weapons and wallet, it wasn't as though I really needed much.

Feeling anxious, I willed the subway train to travel faster. I cursed internally each time we had to stop. Could we go any slower? I wondered if it would've been faster to take a cab, but I doubted it with the traffic. Plus, I had no idea where to get dropped off. I really had very little to go on, and it was worrying me more and more by the minute.

I was honestly unsure of where I was even going. I wasn't terribly familiar with New York and I'd never even heard of Ocean Hill. I just knew that I was headed for Brooklyn, and hoped that I could find a stop that sounded right. Eventually, realizing that I was likely to waste a lot of time getting lost, I asked a friendly-looking, middle- aged lady for some help. She told me which line to take and what stop she thought would be close to where I was trying to go. I thanked her, insisting that she'd been enormously helpful.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the correct stop, and emerged from the subway, remembering to leave my luggage behind. All that was left inside of it were some clothes. Everything that was of importance was in one of my many pockets. Feeling as though I'd probably make some homeless person very happy, I sat the luggage next to a bench and proceeded to walk up the stairs, back into the light of day.

What I found was certainly quite different from Manhattan. There weren't any skyscrapers here. The buildings looked much older, and most of them were only a few stories. There were people around, but it wasn't nearly as crowded as Manhattan. I picked out a direction and started walking. I kept my eyes peeled for a building that fit Sydney's description. The only thing her message had said was that it was large, looked like a warehouse, was a grimy yellow color, and that the windows on the first floor were cemented over. I didn't see anything that seemed to fit her description, so I kept walking.

I turned a corner, and suddenly I was standing in front of an abandoned-looking warehouse. It was four stories high, many of its large windows shattered. The building was a yellowish-brown, and there was moss growing up the side of it. The first floor window openings were covered over with cement blocks. It fit the description. _Could this actually be the right building?_ I wondered. It seemed too easy. But hell, what did I have to lose? I began searching for an entrance.

Around the other side of the building, I spotted a single first floor window that wasn't cemented over. The glass pane was already shattered, and it was easily big enough for me to climb through. Feeling for my gun and stake, I prepared myself to enter, unsure what I'd find inside. It was still daylight, so it was entirely possible that this was a Strigoi hideout. I could be getting myself into a world of danger. But that didn't matter. All that mattered were Lissa and Sydney. And, of course, destroying Rose.

I ducked through the window and jumped inside the building. My dhampir eyesight allowed me to see fairly well in the darkness—though not nearly as well as a Strigoi would be able to see. I took a quick, sweeping glance and saw no one. The building appeared empty. I remained as quiet as I could as I moved around, not that it would make any difference. Strigoi had such heightened senses they'd have heard me before I even came through the window. If they were in here hiding, it was because they wanted to stay hidden. Who knew what they were planning?

I found no signs of anyone—just an open, empty, dark room. There weren't even walls or anything that someone could be hiding behind. Still, I walked through the large space, feeling frustrated. I had been so certain that this building was the right place! I was about to leave and continue my search when the bottom of my foot caught on an uneven spot on the floor. Upon further examination, I realized that it was actually a trapdoor.

"No way," I breathed. Could they be down there? If there were Strigoi below, then they certainly had already heard me traipsing around. If they hadn't come up for me, then they were probably waiting for me to come to them. Great. Just great. How was I going to dive into an unfamiliar space filled with an unknown number of Strigoi and survive? What other options did I have? If Sydney was down there… if _Rose_ was down there… I was running out of time to make this right. _There's nothing left to lose_, I told myself. And with that thought, I grasped my stake tightly in my hand and swung open the door.

Nothing happened. A musty smell wafted up and I could make out a set of wooden stairs leading into blackness below. My eyes adjusted and I could see that there was nothing on the stairs or on the landing at the bottom. I drew in a deep breath and descended the stairs.

The room at the bottom was tiny, with a dirt floor and grimy cement walls. And there, near the far corner, was Sydney Sage, bound and gagged on a wooden chair. She looked frightened but unharmed. I realized that with her human eyesight she couldn't see me in the darkness. I was about to rush towards her, when I felt the slightest of movements behind me.

The Strigoi was fast, but I had reacted quickly enough to avoid a direct blow to the head, where he'd been aiming. A sudden wave of anger burst through me as I thought about this Strigoi kidnapping an innocent human girl, and I fought with as much strength as I could muster. I soon had the Strigoi on the ground, and, without a second's hesitation, I shoved my stake through its heart.

But two more Strigoi instantly appeared from behind the stairs. They were arguing. As much as I wanted to start fighting them instantly, I was intrigued.

"I'm going to kill him. He just destroyed Tony!" shrieked a petite female Strigoi. She had certainly been a human, and had probably still been a teenager when turned.

"You will not! That's Belikov. Rose wants him alive! If you kill him, she'll destroy us all!" The other Strigoi was a male, also human and probably in his mid-twenties.

"He killed Tony!" the girl shrieked again, speeding towards me at Strigoi speed. She lacked the skill of an experienced Strigoi and must've been very new as well. I was disappointed by their conversation. Rose wasn't here. She must've been making new Strigoi to do her bidding.

The male Strigoi launched himself at us as well, but I soon realized he wasn't attacking me. He was trying to hold back the girl.

"Don't kill him, Amy! We can't!"

"I'll do what I want!" she shrieked, shifting her attention from me to him for an instant. It was the opportunity I needed. I got a clear shot at her heart and staked her. Her body collapsed to the ground as I pulled my stake back out. Now, the guy was on me. I could tell he wasn't fighting to kill—but that didn't mean I wasn't.

He was stronger than I had anticipated. He fought with more skill than the other Strigoi I'd encountered recently. Maybe he'd had some sort of training while he'd still been human. Still, I was sure I could destroy him. I went for his heart, and missed. I'd grazed his skin with the stake enough to cause him pain though. He paused momentarily, then leapt back at me. He managed to block his heart. I bashed into the side of his head with the stake. I knew it wouldn't kill him, but it might incapacitate him enough. But he didn't fight back this time—he rushed towards Sydney, placing his hands on the back of her chair.

"If you keep fighting me, I'll kill her," he threatened. "Surrender yourself and she lives." I saw Sydney's eyes grow wide with fear. I thought for a moment, staying very still. Obviously, I wasn't going to allow him to kill Sydney. I could allow him to capture me and probably be taken to Rose. But I'd likely be bound and incapacitated, which might make it impossible to fight her. Plus, I didn't know what they would do to Sydney. Sure, he said he wouldn't kill her, but I knew better than to trust the word of a Strigoi.

"Alright, I won't fight you," I said slowly. Meanwhile, I felt for my gun in my inner coat pocket. I bent to place my stake on the ground, feigning a sign of surrender. As I bent down, I slipped my hand into my pocket and grabbed onto the gun. I popped upright, swung the gun forward and fired. My aim was dead on.

The gun wouldn't kill the Strigoi, but it would slow him down considerably. I heard Sydney try to scream at the sound of the gunshot. I fired three more times, buying myself time to snatch up my stake again.

This time, when I leapt forward, aiming for the Strigoi's heart, he wasn't able to block me in time. I staked him. And then, finally, everything fell silent. I was breathing heavily, becoming aware of the scrapes and bruises I'd acquired during the fight. I could tell I wasn't badly injured, for which I was grateful. I stayed still for a long moment, expecting more Strigoi to come out. When none did, I wandered around to the back of the staircase, stake ready, and peered into what appeared to be a closet that the Strigoi had come out of. It was empty. There were no more Strigoi here.

With that knowledge, I unbound Sydney.

"Mr. Belikov?" she said quietly, her voice shaky.

"Yes," I replied, continuing to untie her arms and legs.

"Thank you for coming for me."

"Of course," I replied. "Are you hurt?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine," she replied. She appeared fine physically, but I couldn't imagine the amount of psychological damage this incident had probably caused her.

"Well then, let's get you out of here," I said. I lifted her up out of the chair. She was startlingly thin. I hadn't really noticed it when I'd seen her the first time, but she probably didn't weigh more than 100 lbs.

"I can walk," she said remaining uncomfortably rigid in my arms.

"Okay," I replied. "Let's just get out of this building first." I ascended the stairs, hoping not to find any more Strigoi before we reached the light. Fortunately, we didn't. I allowed her to climb through the broken window first, thankful for the light of day outside. Sydney stared at me, tentatively.

"You're a guardian, right?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. _Well, I used to be_, I added in my head. She maintained distance from me as we walked down the street. She remained silent, but I could tell there was something she wanted to say.

"I think we should talk," she said finally.

"Okay," I agreed.

"Somewhere that isn't out in the open," she continued. It seemed to pain her to make her next suggestion. "Will you come back to my place? It's not too far from here."

"Sure, I can," I replied. I didn't know what my next move was yet anyway. I'd been anticipating finding Rose when I found Sydney, and now that I hadn't, I was at a bit of a stalemate. I supposed that next I would try the address I'd been given. But I felt that the least I could do was make sure that Sydney Sage got home safely. Besides, if an alchemist actually wanted to invite a dhampir into her living space, then whatever she wanted to discuss must've been important.

We took a cab to her house. Neither of us felt like being underground again to ride the subway. My lack of progress was frustrating me. But at least Sydney Sage was still alive.


	16. Chapter 15

_A/N: And the complications continue. What do you think of me adding Sydney? I hope everyone is enjoying the story. Please read and review! :)_

Chapter 15

We soon arrived at Sydney Sage's apartment. We were still in Brooklyn and her apartment was on the second floor of a very nice brownstone that had been renovated. _The alchemists must take good care of their employees_, I thought to myself as we walked inside. The apartment was bright and open. It was minimally decorated, but very neat and orderly. The living room space had a sofa and two armchairs.

"Have a seat, Mr. Belikov." Sydney gestured towards the sofa. She perched very stiffly on one of the armchairs. Her nervousness was obvious. I was surprised, though, that she seemed relatively calm considering what had just happened to her. Still, she'd spoken very little in the cab, and I hadn't said much either. I didn't want to frighten her. I felt really terrible for the girl, especially since it was basically my fault that she'd gotten captured in the first place.

Sydney's expression looked thoughtful, and she popped up to her feet at once.

"I'm going to make some coffee," she announced. "Would you like some?"

"Yes, please," I replied. Coffee sounded wonderful at the moment. Sydney remained silent while the coffee brewed. I wondered how long she was going to be timid around me before she decided to talk. I still needed to get to Rose as soon as possible.

"So, this is a very nice apartment you have," I said, trying to make some small talk.

"Yes, I like it here," Sydney replied. "It's not really mine though. The alchemists own it. I'm just staying here while I'm assigned in New York." She took a deep breath. "I'll have to contact them and let them know what happened." She didn't sound too enthusiastic about the idea. "The Strigoi destroyed my cell phone after they made me call you." Sydney poured two mugs of coffee. I raised my eyebrows.

"They _made_ you call me?"

"Yes," Sydney replied, handing me a mug of coffee. She sat back down on her chair. "That's why I wanted to talk to you." She paused for a moment. "The Strigoi who captured me—they said that you were a guardian named Dimitri Belikov and that I needed to contact you. There was a Strigoi named Rose looking for you, and they were supposed to capture you and take you to her." Well, that at least made some sense. It also explained how Sydney knew who I was. "I need to know what you know about this Strigoi, Rose." Sydney continued. What was I supposed to say?

"Umm, why do you need to know about Rose, if you don't mind my asking? She's very dangerous."

"It's part of my assignment here," Sydney explained. "I'm working to help cover up the disappearances of humans around the city that have been going on for the past few weeks. We suspect that these humans are being either murdered by Strigoi or turned into Strigoi. The name Rose has come up more than once during our investigations, and we think she must be behind it." I drew in a deep breath. How much should I really tell this alchemist? What the hell did it matter anymore, anyway? It wasn't as though I'd ever have my guardian job again.

"To the best of my knowledge, your theory is correct," I told Sydney. "I've known Rose for several months—when she was still a dhampir. She had been working on completing her guardian training at St. Vladimir's Academy. I was her mentor." I couldn't bring myself to be completely honest with Sydney about my feelings for Rose. "We had an attack at St. Vladimir's a few weeks ago, which I am sure you all heard about." She gave a nod. "Rose was captured and turned. It seems that she's gained a lot of power quickly as a Strigoi, and that she's created quite a few Strigoi to do her bidding. You've seen all the ones that I've destroyed so far." I paused a moment. "You also may have heard that Rose was bonded to the Dragomir princess, Vasilisa. That has been causing additional complications in this situation." Sydney looked confused. Perhaps she hadn't heard about Rose and Lissa's bond. I wasn't sure exactly how much information alchemists were given, but I knew that generally it was a lot.

"I'm not sure I understand," said Sydney.

"I don't know if you remember when the rest of the Dragomir family was killed in a terrible car accident a few years ago," I said. "You probably would've been young." Sydney nodded.

"I remember hearing about it."

"Well, Rose was Vasilisa's best friend, and she was in the car when the accident happened. Technically, Rose died. Vasilisa somehow brought her back to life. We later learned that Vasilisa had specialized in spirit, which is extremely rare. But when she'd brought Rose back to life, it had created a special bond between them. Rose had been able to see through Vasilisa's eyes when she concentrated on it, and recently she'd also learned that she was capable of taking the darkness away from Vasilisa's aura that would form when she used spirit." Sydney's eyes were wide. She shook her head.

"People don't come back from the dead," she said, finally. "They don't." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. I didn't argue with her. I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for a human to accept something so strange as fact. I'd had trouble accepting parts of it myself at first, after all. I just went on with my explanation.

"I was assigned as Vasilisa's guardian at St. Vladimir's," I continued. "And I was also Rose's mentor. I got to know both of them fairly well. When we realized that Rose had become a Strigoi, the bond became a concern, because we weren't sure if it was broken or if it would affect Vasilisa. But if Rose could still see through Vasilisa's eyes, then it posed a great threat to Vasilisa and anyone who was around her. So I accompanied Vasilisa to an isolated location, along with several other guardians, in order to provide her with extra protection. But we soon found that Rose was able to visit Vasilisa in her dreams. This has been causing Vasilisa to be very weak and ill." I paused, as I saw Sydney's facial expressions change as she processed all of the information I was throwing at her. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"But… if you're the princess's guardian, then why aren't you with her?" There it was. The question she was sure to ask. I wasn't going to lie. After all, I was the reason this poor girl had just been captured by Strigoi. The least I could do was tell her the truth.

"Well, I made a very difficult choice. I left Vasilisa—not alone, of course. She has a whole crew of guardians with her. But I believe that as long as Rose still exists, Vasilisa will never be safe or healthy. So, I am trying to find Rose and destroy her, in order to protect Vasilisa." Well, I was being mostly honest, anyway. I might've left out a few details, but the facts were there.

"So, they allowed you to leave your charge? I didn't think the guardians did that." Sydney was an awfully astute young woman.

"You're right, they don't. I left on my own. I know I probably didn't handle things as well as I should have. But if I had stayed, no one would be hunting down Rose, and the princess would have remained in danger—maybe even life-threatening danger. I had to do what I felt was right." I felt Sydney's light brown eyes staring into mine—reading me. I could tell it made her feel uncomfortable. She'd avoided direct eye contact with me most of the time. When she finally spoke, her voice was small.

"I understand what you did. Sometimes the alchemists don't handle things the way I think they should. Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to stand up to them." She sighed and took a long sip of her coffee. "So, you're going to keep looking for Rose?"

"Yes, I am. I had thought I might find her with you today. But I have another lead. Hopefully I can take care of this before you have to deal with covering up any more deaths." Sydney held her scrutinizing gaze on me. It was almost making me feel uncomfortable—I felt like she couldn't make up her mind about me. Finally, she spoke again.

"Mr. Belikov, I think you should bring me with you." My jaw probably dropped halfway to the floor. Was this tiny, timid, one-hundred pound little human girl who had just narrowly escaped death at the hand of a Strigoi really asking to go out _looking_ for more vampires?

"Miss Sage, I can't put you in that danger."

"Mr. Belikov, with all due respect, I…"

"Please, call me Dimitri," I interjected.

"Okay, Dimitri. As I was saying, I believe I could be of help to you. I owe you. You saved my life. If we work together, we could take care of this whole situation more efficiently."

"Miss Sage…"

"Call me Sydney, please."

"Of course. Sydney, I am a guardian. I can't allow others to go into harm's way. Allowing a human girl to cross paths with a Strigoi is dangerous, irresponsible, and unheard of."

"I don't mean to go fight them with you," Sydney said. "But if I wait outside somewhere—in a safe location—you can communicate with me. I can make sure that you're okay. And I can call for more help if necessary. Plus, after the Strigoi are destroyed, I'll be right there to dispose of the bodies before anyone else becomes involved." I raised my eyebrows. I still didn't think it was a good idea. This was supposed to be my solo mission.

"I appreciate your willingness to help me, Sydney, but I'd really rather do this alone." Sydney looked frustrated.

"Look, I've been getting reprimanded for not handling all of these disappearances well enough. You might not realize it, but I'm up to thirteen of them to deal with now. I really want a better assignment and I won't get it if I can't handle this one. If you just let me go with you, then we can put an end to this whole mess and I can take care of it more quickly. Please, Dimitri?"

"I'm sorry, Sydney, but I can't." I had a feeling Sydney wasn't going to take no for an answer easily. I was right.

"Dimitri, you abandoned your charge when you went looking for Rose. I'll bet that means you ran away. And I'll bet no one knows where you are." Uh-oh, what was she playing at? "If you don't let me come with you, I can make about two phone calls, and everyone will know exactly where you are."

"If you do that, then no one will ever stop Rose," I pointed out.

"Then just let me come along. I promise I can be of help to you. Let's just work together on this." I sighed. I ran the idea through my head. I supposed it wouldn't be terrible to have someone know where I was. As long as she stayed far enough away in a safe location. Hell, we were breaking all the rules now. Alchemists working with guardians—or ex-guardians… and perhaps ex-alchemists by the time this was all said and done. I still wanted to say no very badly, but my mistake had gotten Sydney captured. Plus, if she did decide to turn me in, then there would be no one to go after Rose. I groaned inwardly.

"Fine. I will bring you along."

"Excellent, Dimitri. I promise you won't regret it." Sydney looked a little relieved but still very tense.

As much as I wanted to set out right away, the sun was beginning to set, and I wasn't sure if travelling at night would be the wisest move. I didn't even know what our transportation options were. Sydney must've been thinking along the same lines.

"If you'd like, you can sleep on my couch tonight and we can head out first thing in the morning," suggested Sydney. "Don't worry. I wake up early."

"That sounds fine." I agreed. I contemplated sneaking out during the night, but figured I probably wouldn't. I did like Sydney, and I was sure she had good intentions. I just hoped she didn't hinder my progress.

After being served some dinner—a very meager salad—I curled up on the couch for an uncomfortable night's sleep. Not only was I far too tall for sleeping on a couch, but there were also way too many thoughts on my mind.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been reading, reviewing and following this story! I am glad you are enjoying it! And don't worry, Dimitri and Rose will be meeting face to face soon! **____** Hope you like the chapter! Read and review!**_

_I watch the hope I had disintegrate before my eyes  
I take a minute and reflect on all your fucking lies  
Behind the door, you have two choices, but you don't get to choose  
You can survive or you can die - either way you lose_

_-Choose by Stone Sour_

Despite Sydney's uncomfortable couch and my never-ending train of thoughts, I eventually fell into an exhausted slumber. I immediately felt myself being pulled into a spirit dream. I soon recognized the yard outside of the house where Adrian, Christian and Lissa were staying. Adrian materialized in front of me, his green eyes filled with concern. He opened his mouth, but didn't speak.

_"Adrian, what's wrong?" I asked. _

_ "I—I…" It wasn't like Adrian to be at a loss for words. "I… think we may have a problem…"_

_ "What's wrong? Is it Lissa?" I asked, suddenly on edge with worry._

_ "Yes, basically," said Adrian. "She keeps getting sicker. I mean, she stayed awake for like three days straight, but she couldn't do it anymore. And every single time she dozes off—even for a few minutes—Rose attacks her in her dreams. Lissa can't even make her spirit powers work at all anymore. She's so sick. She struggles to even walk." _

_ "Adrian, listen to me," I said sternly. "Get help from the other guardians. You don't have to tell them exactly what is going on, but tell them that Lissa should have medical care." I couldn't imagine how they hadn't figured out by now that the princess was ill. Adrian's face twisted into an expression that looked something like guilt. He spoke carefully._

_ "That's the thing, Belikov. They were going to get Lissa help. They were going to take her away somewhere. But she didn't want to go." _Were_? What did he mean, _were? _I did not like the direction this seemed to be headed. My expression must've given away my concern, because Adrian grew defensive as he continued. "What was I supposed to do? Let Lissa kill herself? That's what she was going to do, if we let them try to take her. Christian was beside himself. It wasn't like I had many options!" _

_ "What did you do, Adrian?" I asked, trying_ _to remain calm. _

_ "We ran away," he answered._

_ "Why on earth would you run away?" I demanded, enraged. "How could you do that? I told you all to stay there where you were safe!" I was seeing red. I could've jumped forward and strangled Adrian, right then and there, but fortunately, my self-control was impeccable. Still, I must've looked angry, because Adrian's expression grew meek, and when he spoke again, he was quieter—almost timid._

_ "The guardians had finally made an ultimatum. They were going to take Lissa to the Royal Court to arrange medical care first thing tomorrow morning, whether she refused it or not. Christian hadn't left Lissa's side in days, and neither had the guardians, obviously, but we still feared the worst. She thought that by killing herself she'd put everyone else out of danger of Rose. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep the guardians from taking her away in the morning, and they weren't going to let me or Christian go along. So we left."_

_ "You left. How did you leave, Adrian?"_

_ "I compelled the guardians, we took the van, and got out of there." Adrian shrugged, as though it was simple. _

_ "What did I tell you about using compulsion against the guardians?" I demanded._

_ "Don't talk to me like a child, Belikov!" Adrian countered, raising his voice. "You don't have any room to talk anyway! You ran away. Are you going to be a hypocrite now? Because if you have any better idea of what I should have done, then you let me know. We're both just trying to keep Lissa alive, so don't judge me and my decisions when yours weren't any better!" I didn't agree with Adrian's decisions, but I knew he felt like there weren't any other options. Just as I had thought there weren't any other options whenever I left. So, as much as I hated to admit that Adrian Ivashkov was right, I had to accept his actions. Besides, what was done was done. What mattered now was the safety of Lissa, Christian and Adrian. Honestly, I was half surprised that the guardians hadn't caught up with them yet. After all, Lissa was a princess and would certainly be a high priority of the royal court. On the other hand, Lissa and Rose had managed to stay hidden for two years before they'd been tracked down the last time they ran off. I'd always figured that Rose had been the mastermind behind that plan, but maybe Lissa had a few tricks up her sleeves as well. And with Adrian and Christian in tow, well, let's just say I had a feeling that Rose would find the three of them long before the authorities ever would._

_ "So, where are the three of you?" I questioned. _

_ "You mean the four of us?" Adrian corrected._

_ "Four?"_

_ "Yeah. Three Moroi aren't going to survive very long without a feeder, Belikov. We brought Curtis." I groaned internally. As if three Moroi on their own weren't dangerous enough! Three Moroi and a _human. _They were practically begging to be some Strigoi's lunch. _

_ "Okay. Where are the _four_ of you? You didn't answer my question."_

_ "I can't tell you that."_

_ "What do you mean, you can't tell me that? I can't leave the four of you on your own! You need a guardian."_

_ "You're not a guardian anymore."_

_ "I'm still trained to protect idiots like you, despite your chronic poor choices!" He was really getting on my last nerve now. _

_ "You can't talk to me like that." Adrian glared at me coldly. I had crossed a line, and no matter how justified I was in doing so, I realized that Adrian had the power to end this dream whenever he wanted, and then I would have no connection to the three of them. _

_ "You're right, I'm sorry. I am just concerned for all of you. Rose can see through Lissa's eyes. Now that you're outside the wards, it would be incredibly easy for her to track you down. The last time I encountered her, she was interested in coming after me. But now that you guys are the easier target, her plans may have changed."_

_ "Well, excuse me for being optimistic and thinking that just maybe you would have found Rose by tonight!" Adrian snapped._

_ "Do you think I haven't been trying? There have been complications. Rose has been creating new Strigoi to do her bidding. I've already taken out several of them, but I am sure there are more. There's no way of guaranteeing that she won't send some of them after you while she comes after me."_

_ "Did you ever think that just maybe we can take care of ourselves?" Adrian asked._

_ "That's not likely. Besides, have you considered what the royal court will do to you when they find you?" I asked._

_ "My aunt likes me," replied Adrian with a smirk. "I'd be more concerned about what they'll do with you when they find you." He had a definite point there. If I could destroy Rose, it would be worth it. But, in all likelihood my guardian career was over, and I could easily be facing jail time. _

_ "Okay, look, I get it. You think you've got everything under control. I can't make you tell me where you are. I can only recommend that it would be in your best interest. If not for your own safety, then at least for Lissa's."_

_ "How about this, Belikov. You tell me where you are. Did it ever occur to you that we might be able to help you with Rose?" _

_ "Help? How?"_

_ "Gee, I don't know. Let's see," Adrian's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You'd only have a fire-using Moroi who helped to destroy Strigoi in the attack on St. Vladimir's and two spirit-using Moroi—one of whom Rose can see through directly. I can't see how that would be helpful at all."_

_ "Your help doesn't outweigh the danger I would be putting you in if you came to help. I can't allow that."_

_ "You're not a guardian anymore, Belikov. Give it up. You're nothing more than some dhampir on a solo mission to destroy his ex-lover." That was a bit like taking a bullet. Adrian certainly did have a way with words. I didn't let my reaction show._

_ "Here's how it goes, Adrian. I will be finding Rose tomorrow as it stands. And I will be doing so alone." He didn't need to know about Sydney. "If, for some reason, I don't manage to destroy her tomorrow, I will reconsider allowing you to help. Until then, the three of you—four of you, rather—need to stay as safe and hidden as possible." _

_ "I didn't want to do this, Belikov," said Adrian. "But you've given me no other choice." He fixed his eyes on mine. "You will tell me where you are." _

I was awake. I couldn't remember how the dream had ended. The last thing I could remember was… shit! Adrian had compelled me. I had no idea if it had worked. I couldn't remember any more of the conversation. Damn it! Now I didn't know if Adrian and the others knew where I was or not. Plus, I had no idea how far away they were. What if they could get here in the next few hours? I checked the clock on the wall. It was 2:48 am. I really hoped Sydney woke up early, as she had claimed. We were getting out of here as soon as possible.

I kept mentally kicking myself. How could have I allowed Adrian to compel me? I should have known he would try. Now I was going to have three Moroi tag-alongs as well as two human tag-alongs if they all found me... if they didn't get themselves killed first. And all I had wanted was to go off and destroy Rose on my own. There was no reason to risk five extra lives in the process.

God, I hoped they didn't find me before I got to Rose. I really hoped Adrian didn't get the address I had_ for_ Rose. Why, _why_ couldn't they just have stayed within the safety of the wards? This whole mission was shaping up to be a catastrophic disaster. Way too many people were in danger over this mess. Everything I had done to try to keep them out of danger had failed. And I couldn't help but feel like it was all my fault.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_A/N: Well, I had a lot of free time today, so here's another chapter. It's a long one too. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review! _

When Sydney said she woke up early, she wasn't kidding. At 4:45 on the dot, I heard her alarm clock beep, and minutes later, she was in the kitchen brewing coffee. I hadn't slept anymore since the dream with Adrian. As the smell of coffee filled the apartment, I pulled myself up from the couch, yawning.

"Good morning," said Sydney. I wasn't so sure what was good about it.

"Morning," I replied. I ran a hand over my hair. I felt disheveled, wearing yesterday's clothes, and having slept on some girl's couch. Sydney must've realized what I was thinking.

"You're welcome to take a shower if you want," she offered.

"I might take you up on that," I agreed. Granted, I no longer had any clean clothes to change into, since I'd abandoned my luggage in the subway. And I wasn't sure that I wanted to waste the time. But in the end I decided that five extra minutes couldn't hurt.

The hot water felt great against my skin. I hadn't realized how stiff my muscles had been until they relaxed in the moist air. I got stuck washing my hair with some fruity smelling girly shampoo—it was all that Sydney had. And her body wash smelled like flowers. But I still felt better after I was clean. And even better still after I'd gulped down a cup of coffee.

I could see that the sun had just started to rise. Finally.

"I suppose it's safe for us to get out of here," I said.

"Yeah," said Sydney. "I emailed the alchemists last night. I just have to get back my car. It was impounded after I was captured by the Strigoi because it was parked illegally." I groaned. We didn't have time to deal with that.

"How about we rent a car?" I suggested. "I can get it."

"I thought you ran away from the guardians," said Sydney. "If you rent a car, they will want your ID, and then they will be able to track you down."

"I already have that covered," I replied. "I had a fake ID made. But if that's not a good enough plan, we can always steal a car." Sydney raised her eyebrows in alarm.

"No, I think we'd better rent one."

"Alright then. That's settled."

An hour and a half later, we were on the road in a rented Toyota Corolla—something that wouldn't draw any attention. I was driving and Sydney was searching the address that the Strigoi had given me on her laptop.

"Well, it's in Connecticut," Sydney said. "There really isn't much nearby either. There's a motel that's about three miles away. I suppose I could stay there. It's not very close though."

"That'll be fine," I said, thinking it might be better to keep Sydney farther away rather than closer.

"Should I go ahead and make the reservations awhile?" asked Sydney.

"Sure," I agreed. It would save us time. "Use my fake identity." I reached in my pocket and handed her my wallet.

"Are you sure? I can pay for it." Sydney seemed to feel bad that I was paying for both the car and the hotel.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you probably didn't tell the alchemists that you were coming with me, right?" I asked her.

"Right," she agreed.

"So, I don't think you want your name listed on a motel in Connecticut then, do you?"

"I suppose not."

"It's settled then." Sydney made no further argument as she arranged the reservations.

The next two hours on the road went by slowly. Sydney remained silent and the highway was monotonous. Not wanting to dwell on my thoughts, I flipped on the car radio, tuning into a station that played eighties music. In my head, I could hear Rose poking fun at my music selection, as she always used to any time we traveled together. After a few moments, it bothered me enough that I turned the music back off, preferring silence to the memories. If Sydney was surprised by my odd behavior, she didn't show it.

I made a quick stop at a drive-thru for some food, since I hadn't eaten anything except for the tiny salad Sydney had made for dinner the night before. After a little encouragement, I got Sydney to order something too. Of course, it was a salad. As we drove, she picked at it, barely eating half. I wondered if there was anyone in her life who had realized that she probably had an eating disorder. I didn't have time to worry about that right now though. There were too many people in more immediate danger.

We also had to stop and replace Sydney's destroyed cell phone, so that I had a way to reach her if I got into trouble. Her words, not mine. I wasn't quite sure how I'd have time to call an alchemist in the middle of a Strigoi battle, but I knew she wanted to feel helpful, and I did feel bad that her old phone got ruined. Thankfully, she was okay with a cheap, prepaid phone—like mine—for the moment, and we were back on the road in a matter of minutes.

After that, it wasn't long before we arrived at the small motel where Sydney had made reservations. I was all ready to just drop her off quickly and be on my way, but she pointed out that they would need my ID and credit card for check in. Reluctantly, I parked the car and went into the lobby.

A middle-aged woman took my ID and credit card. She was friendly, but very interested in making small talk.

"Ah, Pennsylvania," she said, looking at my driver's license. "Nice place. I visited Gettysburg on vacation last summer." I nodded. I'd never been to Gettysburg before, and I wasn't terribly knowledgeable on the US civil war. "So, what brings you two up here?" she asked.

"Oh, we're just visiting some family," I answered vaguely.

"Well, that's nice. It's always good to see young people spending time with family. I'll just need the names of all the adults staying in the room then." I saw her eyeing Sydney questionably.

"Oh, this is my step-sister." It was the first thing I could think of, since Sydney definitely looked too young to be my girlfriend, and too different from me to be a blood relative—especially since she didn't have a Russian accent. "She's only sixteen," I lied. Sydney actually was eighteen, as she had informed me earlier, but she certainly didn't look like it to me, so I was sure this lady wouldn't think so either.

"Alright then, just your signature here, Mr. Volkov," the woman said, handing me a pen and a sheet of paper. I was glad she addressed me as Mr. Volkov, or else I might've forgotten and signed my real name. I was too distracted for this trivial bullshit. But I put on a smile and thanked the woman for her helpfulness.

"You two enjoy your stay. And if there's anything we can do to make you more comfortable, please just let us know." Sydney and I both thanked her politely and headed back to the car.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you here now, Sydney," I said. "I want to head straight over to this house while there's still plenty of light in the sky."

"Okay, big bro," said Sydney with a hint of a smile. She hadn't been one to make jokes at all since I'd known her, but apparently she found it amusing that I had told the front desk woman I was her step-brother. I managed a small smile back at her.

"I will call you if I'm in need of anything," I told her.

"But I won't have a vehicle," she realized.

"Yes, you will. I'm going on foot from here. Strigoi have good hearing. The car engine will give me away even sooner."

"Are you sure? It's almost three miles away."

"I'm positive. If all goes well you can come and pick me up when it's over."

"I wish I could be of more help," Sydney said regretfully.

"I'm trained to deal with this," I lied to her. No amount of training could have ever truly prepared me for this. "Just sit tight, and I'll call you if I need you. Okay, sis?" There was the hint of a smile again.

"Okay," she agreed. "Please be careful," she added.

"I will. Do you need help getting into the room?" I asked.

"Nope. I can manage." Sydney had only brought one small overnight bag in addition to her purse and laptop.

"Then, here are the keys." I pulled the keys out of the ignition of the parked car and handed them to her. I climbed out of the car and drew in a deep breath.

"I'll see you soon, Dimitri," said Sydney, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'll see you soon," I replied, and with that, I began to walk away, wondering to myself if I would ever see Sydney Sage again. There was a reason I'd left her with the car. Truth be told, I probably should have left her without it, so she wouldn't be able to come any closer to where I was headed. But there was the very real possibility that I wasn't coming out of this alive, and I didn't want to leave her stranded.

Besides, it wasn't a bad day to walk. The afternoon sun was high in the sky and there were hardly any clouds. There was a gentle breeze and it was cool enough that I was comfortable in my duster. I checked multiple times to make sure I had both of my weapons. I was going to need them.

I could've easily ran and gotten to the house much more quickly, but I didn't want to expend the extra energy. And even more importantly, I wanted the last bit of time to attempt to mentally prepare myself for what I might be facing in the matter of an hour.

The walk was two more miles down the same rural road that the motel was on. There were fields on either side. I passed one gas station, a few houses, a church. A total of four cars drove by. Finally I reached the road where I was supposed to make a left turn. It was an even more rural-looking road that led up a hill. This was the road that would lead me to the house where Rose was staying.

Suddenly, I was ready. It was now or never. My feet pounded against the pavement as I broke into a run. There was no more holding back. No hesitations. I knew what I had to do, and I would do it. Too many lives were at stake.

As I neared the top of the hill, the house—or mansion, rather—came into view. It was almost cliché, like something out of a horror film. The house was vast with enormous windows and stood three stories high. It was obviously in a state of disrepair. Its façade was worn and dirty, some of the shutters were missing, and the roof looked like it hadn't been replaced in half a century. The building sat far from the road, back another lane, and a wrought-iron fence surrounded the property. There was a gate, but it was propped open.

Since I was still safe in the light of day, I strolled right through the gate and up the lane. By this point, Rose had to know I was coming anyway. There was no use in trying to sneak around. When I stepped onto the rickety front porch it creaked and groaned. _Well, she knows I'm here now_, I thought, reaching for the knob on the front door. It was locked. The door didn't look particularly sturdy—it was probably close to a hundred years old, no exaggeration.

I took a few steps back, and in one swift motion, I gave the door a forceful kick. It fell to the ground, leaving a cloud of dust. As the air cleared, I took a step inside, hand ready on my stake, even though I knew a Strigoi couldn't be in the light.

I was in a foyer. To the right I could see a formal parlor with dated furniture and heavy, mauve drapes. To the left was a formal dining room with similar dated furniture and peeling wallpaper. I stepped further forward, wondering if this house had a basement or a space without windows where a Strigoi could hide out during the day. I paused and listened very closely, but didn't hear any sounds at all. With every step I took, the floorboards creaked. If any Strigoi were here, they were certainly waiting for me to walk into their trap. I was safe in the light for now, but the sun would go down, and then I'd be in a lot more trouble. It would be better to make my move now, while I still had the daylight.

I moved through the whole first floor and found no one. There was another sitting room, a powder room, and a kitchen. Lastly, I found yet another sitting room. In this room, I discovered some things that intrigued me.

The first thing I noticed was a photograph—one that I had never seen before—of me and Rose. My breath caught in my throat. We were posed together, smiling, yet looking professional. Finally, I remembered Lissa taking the photograph after Rose had received her molnija marks. It was sitting on a table in a silver frame. I walked closer to it and picked it up. It was almost too painful to look at the two of us standing side by side.

I shoved my emotions deeper inside and forced myself to sit the picture back down. Now was not the time to lose focus. Rose had probably left the photograph sitting there for precisely that reason—to distract me. I wouldn't let her. But the photograph wasn't the only thing on the table. When I sat it back down, I noticed a small, parchment envelope. It was addressed to me—in handwriting I recognized as Rose's.

I had a mental debate on whether or not to open it, but in the end my curiosity won out.

_My Dearest Dimitri,_

_ I am so glad that you have finally come to visit me. I have been missing you. I cannot wait for us to be together again, my love. This time we will be together forever, with nothing to stand in our way. But I learned that you've made a new friend, darling, and I need to make sure your loyalty still lies with me before I give you the glorious gift of immortality._ _I want you to be mine, and I simply won't share. _

_All my love,_

_Roza_

She'd even signed it Roza. And she was jealous, of Sydney? I knew Strigoi were greedy and possessive, but it still struck me as odd. I almost sat the note back down, but at the last second, I tucked it into my jacket pocket. So, Rose was here. Then where was she?

I figured a basement was my best option. After finding two doors that ended up being closets, I finally found one that had a small set of stairs descending to a lower level. This is where it would end. Staying highly alert, I slowly stepped onto the stairs. I continued downward, watching and listening for even the slightest movement.

But I never saw it coming. Something hard bashed into the side of my head with such force that I felt myself falling forward—and the world went black.

_The next thing I saw was Adrian's face. Great, I must've died and gone to hell. _

_ "Dimitri, I've been trying to reach you. We decided to tell you where we are." I took a few seconds to try to orient myself. It wasn't working._

_ "Okay," I said, dumbly. "I don't know if I'm alive," I added._

_ "You have to be alive, or you wouldn't be here in my dream. Did you find Rose?"_

_ "No," I answered, still trying to process what happened. My head was throbbing—even though this was a dream. "I was close."_

_ "Well, what's the holdup? Lissa's not getting any better, you know."_

_ "Well, where are you, if you're going to tell me?" I asked._

_ "In Montana." He named a town that was about an hour away from St. Vladimir's. Of course they would be on the other side of the country!_

_ "Okay. Why don't you just go back to the school and get help," I suggested. My head was pounding so hard that I could barely see straight. I wasn't really sure how I was even staying on my feet. _

_ "No way," said Adrian. "We aren't turning ourselves into them after we ran away. I thought you wanted to come and help to guard us. So why don't you?" _

_ "I—I'm a little bit tied up at the moment, Adrian." My mind was still trying to sort out what had happened. I must've had a concussion. _

_ "Well, when you figure things out, please come to us. We'll be waiting. Lissa won't last much longer." He repeated their location and the dream dissolved away. _

I awoke to find myself lying at the bottom of a stairwell. My head was pounding even harder than it had been during the dream. Lying next to me on the bottom step was a heavy piece of lead pipe. Apparently that was what had hit me in the head. I tried to stand up, but immediately lost balance and had to sit back down. I cursed internally. How could I have let this happen? Here I was—incapacitated—in a house with a Strigoi… and yet, I was still alone.

With the throbbing in my head, my reasoning was fuzzy. But it didn't make sense that a Strigoi would have left me alone while I was passed out. If Rose was there, it would've been the perfect opportunity to capture me, change me even. I'd been completely defenseless for who knew how long—and yet I was still here, still alone, and still a dhampir. Something didn't add up. Once more, I tried to get to my feet. This time, I nearly made it. But when I lost balance, I fell hard, again.

I must've passed out, because when I came too, my head felt considerably better. As all the recent events came flooding back to me, I scrambled to my feet—this time I was capable of doing so without trouble. I felt a vibration in my pocket—my cell phone. I pulled it out.

**Are you okay? Should I come to get you? Please answer. **

It was from Sydney. There were six other text messages—all from her. She seemed concerned. Then I noticed the time on the corner of the phone's screen. Eight forty-three. AM. That couldn't be right! That meant I'd been passed out for about fifteen hours!

I darted back up the stairs, and, sure enough, it was light outside again. I'd been passed out in this abandoned mansion all night and not a single Strigoi had disturbed me. It didn't make any sense! I could only assume that this house was empty. So, was I tricked? Rose had obviously been here at some point. But she wasn't here now. Damn it! Why did I seem to keep getting a run-around? If she was so keen on turning me, then why was she so difficult to find?

I walked outside of the house, getting ready to call Sydney. I felt the side of my head where the pipe had hit me. There was a huge knot. I had a feeling that someone had hit me with that pipe—it couldn't have just fallen with that much force. So who had done it—and where had they gone? And why? If it was a Strigoi, then why hadn't they captured me? And if it wasn't a Strigoi—then who else would it possibly have been?

I called a frantic Sydney, and assured her that I was okay. I asked her to pick me up, and to bring some Tylenol and coffee, if at all possible. She said she'd be there shortly.

I walked back down to the edge of the road, thinking about the dream I'd had with Adrian. It was hard to remember much about it—I'd been so dazed. The only thing that stood out in my mind was where they said they were. Montana.

Since Rose wasn't here, maybe she'd taken off after them. It was as good a guess as any. I didn't have any other leads. So I knew what my next move would be. It was time for Mr. Volkov to book a flight to Montana.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"_I see you, but I can't feel you anymore - so go away  
I need you, but I can't need you anymore - you hesitate - hesitate  
You were my fire, so I burned... now there's nothing left of me..."_

_-Hesitate by Stone Sour_

Sydney didn't seem as surprised as I had been that I didn't find Rose at the house.

"She must be trying to trick you," she said.

"But why?" I wondered aloud, as we drove back to the hotel. "She always seems so interested in changing me into a Strigoi, yet I can never find her."

"She's probably just trying to wear you down and frustrate you," suggested Sydney. "She doesn't have to be in a big hurry or anything. She's immortal."

"That's true. You're probably right," I agreed.

"Plus, maybe it's got something to do with the princess," Sydney continued. "If Rose is gaining power from her or something, then maybe she wants to gain as much as she can before she encounters you. I mean, you're obviously really good at fighting Strigoi. Maybe Rose is scared." It was another very plausible suggestion. I was grateful for Sydney's voice of reason at the moment, because I was nearly at my wit's end.

"I need to book the earliest possible flight to Montana," I told Sydney.

"Montana?" she questioned. I explained the spirit dream I'd had with Adrian while I was passed out. Surprisingly, she didn't question it. "I won't be able to go with you to Montana." I could hear some disappointment in her voice. I hadn't expected her to go.

"Oh?" I said.

"It's too far away. I'm assigned in New York. I can travel a few hours away without getting caught, but if I go that far, I'll certainly lose my job."

"It's okay. I understand. I'll be okay," I reassured her.

"I just wanted to be able to put an end to all of this," said Sydney. "I guess at least if she's not in New York anymore then I might not have any more disappearances to deal with." I could hear the frustration in Sydney's voice. I knew her job couldn't have been an easy one. Coming up with ways to explain the disappearances of so many humans would certainly be challenging.

"I promise I'll get rid of Rose sooner or later," I told Sydney. "Hopefully sooner, rather than later." She was silent for a moment.

"I just… well, I wanted to be there… so that I could help you," Sydney admitted. The two of us had formed an unlikely companionship over the last few days. I found myself genuinely concerned about Sydney's well-being. And apparently she felt the same about mine. There was nothing romantic about the bond we had formed, but Sydney had become a friend. And I had very few of those these days. Part of me would be sad to leave her behind. The other part of me knew she would be much safer here.

Back at the hotel, Sydney attempted to find me a flight to Montana.

"There's a flight out of Newark at six tonight to Missoula," she told me, clicking through websites. "It's about a two-hour drive from here. But it looks like that's your quickest option. It's direct—no layovers."

"Okay, let's go ahead and book it," I said, pulling out my fake ID and credit card yet again.

"I'll drive you to the airport," offered Sydney. "I'm headed back to the city anyway. It's not too far out of the way."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Sydney actually was pretty helpful to me.

We had a few hours of extra time, since it was still early in the day. I had Sydney stop at a shopping center where I picked up a few changes of clothes, a spare pair of shoes, some basic toiletry items, and a carry-on luggage to put it all in. Now that this whole ordeal was likely to continue for several more days—at least—I was badly in need of a change of clothes.

This time in the car, we listened to the radio. Sydney told me that she also enjoyed eighties music, which surprised me a little. Now that she seemed more comfortable around me, she talked more. I learned that she loved classic cars—another trait that seemed very out of character to me. I even convinced her to order a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a salad when we stopped to eat. She only at two-thirds of it, but hey, it was a start.

I found myself growing sad as we neared the airport. I was going to have to say goodbye to Sydney, and be on my own again. And then, something dawned on me—something extremely important.

"I'm never going to be able to take my weapons on a plane." How stupid of me not to think of it sooner! As guardians we always flew on private jets with Moroi. But airports like this had ridiculous amounts of security. There was no way in hell I was getting through security with a gun and a silver stake. "God damn it!" I cursed.

What could I do? Sure, I could go without my weapons, but that was dangerous. And since I was in hiding, it wouldn't be easy to get new weapons when I got to Montana. Anyone there who could get me a new stake would know exactly who I was. A gun might've been a little easier to come by, but I still wasn't keen on trying to get one with a fake ID.

"I guess I'm not flying after all," I concluded.

"Really?" asked Sydney.

"Can you think of any way to get my weapons onto a plane?" I snapped, feeling irritated.

"Well, no," she admitted.

"I'm not leaving them," I said. "I don't want to be without them, and they'll be too difficult to replace in Montana."

"So what are you going to do?" Sydney asked. I sighed. It was going to take me forever to get there.

"Looks like I'm driving."

"What? It would take like forty hours to drive straight through. And it'll be longer because you'll have to stop and sleep."

"I don't see any other options, unfortunately," I said. "Drive back to your place and I'll take the car from there."

"You're going to take the rental car to Montana?" asked Sydney.

"I don't have any other car," I answered. "Trust me, I'll deal with it. I've got much bigger problems at the moment." She nodded.

"I'm really sorry I can't come along. I wish I could. You'd get there faster if we could take turns driving."

"Don't worry about it," I answered. I was in a terrible mood. How had I not thought about my weapons sooner? I'd be lucky if I made it to Montana before Rose killed Lissa now. Why had Adrian taken everyone to the other side of the country? I wondered how they'd gotten to Montana. If they were on the run, they certainly couldn't have flown. I supposed they'd have driven the van. They'd had the time, especially since they could've taken turns driving.

Why couldn't there be an easier way to travel with weapons? Of course, I was being stubborn. I had the option of leaving my gun and stake with Sydney, and going to the trouble of finding another set when I got to Montana. But the truth was, I didn't want to be unarmed for any length of time. Humans and their frustrating laws!

We got back to Sydney's and I felt ridiculous for the amount of time I had wasted. I didn't want to waste any more. I bid Sydney farewell without going inside.

"It was nice meeting you, Dimitri. I am sorry I can't be of more help to you."

"It was nice meeting you too. And I appreciate the help you were able to give me. I understand that you need to stay here."

"Thanks. I hope you'll keep me updated on how things are going."

"I definitely will," I agreed. "But for now I need to hit the road."

"Okay. Be careful," said Sydney.

"I will. And you do the same."

"I will." There was an awkward pause. I wondered if I should've given Sydney a hug, but I didn't think she'd like physical contact from a dhampir, seeing as she was an alchemist. She offered her right hand for a handshake. I shook it.

"Farewell, Sydney," I said. It would feel strange to be all alone again.

"Goodbye, Dimitri." I waited until she went inside the front door of her brownstone, and then I took off down the street.

Anger and urgency made my foot heavy on the gas pedal. I wanted to cover as much distance as possible before stopping to sleep. Time seemed to stand still, but gradually—very gradually—I managed to put hours and miles behind me. Soon, the sun was setting. I wasn't tired, so I decided I'd keep driving through the night. Since I was alone now I wasn't too worried about the danger. Plus, I needed to cover as much ground as possible.

Just after nightfall I had to stop to fill the gas tank. I bought a sub while I was at it too, to save time. I got back into the car and merged back onto the highway, munching on the sub as I drove. I hadn't traveled more than a few miles when the car started sputtering and jerking.

"You've got to me kidding me," I muttered, slowing and pulling over onto the shoulder as the car engine died altogether. How much bad luck could a person have?

I pulled out my cheap cell phone and attempted to use its poor web navigation to find the phone number for a towing service. I was good at a lot of things, but repairing cars wasn't one of them. I would have to get towed to a repair shop, which would set me back until tomorrow, at least.

Forty-five minutes later, Bob's Towing Service arrived. The closest repair shop was twenty minutes back in the direction I'd just come from. I reluctantly agreed to have the car taken there. At least the truck driver was generous enough to give me a ride to the neighboring motel, which was a tiny little place for truckers along the interstate. I paid for the tow and checked into a motel room.

My room was tiny and musty. There was mildew on the walls, and the bedding looked like it hadn't been changed since about 1972. There was only one functioning light and the TV didn't work. Nonetheless, I needed to get some sleep while the opportunity was here. I wanted to be on the road as soon as possible in the morning—whether it meant getting the Corolla fixed or taking another car. And from that point, I was driving straight through to Montana, come hell or high water. I was still in Ohio, so I had a long road ahead of me.

Keeping my clothes on, I climbed between the yellowed sheets of the creaky motel bed, closing my eyes and trying to ignore the smell. After remaining restlessly awake for quite some time, I finally drifted off.

"Dimitri." When I heard her voice, I knew I had to be in another one of her dreams. But I couldn't see her. I couldn't see anything. Shifting around, I realized, in horror, that this was no dream. I was awake. And the voice I'd heard was unmistakably Rose's. I made a move to jump up, but quickly found that both of my arms were bound. So were my legs.

"There you are, comrade." With my dhampir eyesight, I could make out her dim silhouette in the blackness. I hated how the darkness always hid the features that made her look like a Strigoi. She wore a dress that was low-cut and crimson—undeniably pretty, but not something she would've worn as a dhampir. My heart immediately started hammering as a million emotions flooded through me. "Finally, we're face to face." I blinked my eyes, dumbfounded. I couldn't believe she'd broken into my room and bound my arms and legs without me waking. I was a guardian, after all. Usually even the slightest noise would wake me out of a dead sleep! "Oh, Dimitri, how I've missed you." She leaned very close over me. "Did you miss me?"

I forced myself to stay calm. I would find a way out of this, but right now, I was defenseless with a Strigoi standing over me. A deadly, dangerous Strigoi—_not _my Roza. I _had_ to keep reminding myself of that. Getting upset or panicked would not help matters, nor would giving in to emotion. I remained silent. Rose crawled onto the bed, kneeling beside me. "What's the matter, comrade? Are you afraid?" When she laughed in my ear it wasn't her laugh. It unnerved me. I suddenly felt revolted. I could not be defeated by this undead creature! I didn't speak. I didn't allow my face to display any reaction. I simply stayed still and tried to reason a way out of the situation.

Clearly, if Rose had only wanted to attack me, she would have done so. I would have already been a Strigoi by now. But she wanted to play games and amuse herself. That, I hoped, would be her downfall.

"You know, Dimitri, you disappoint me. You've made this all _so_ easy. I would have thought you'd put up more of a fight. But you've taken away all of my fun." What was she talking about? "You played right into my game. You left the Dragomir princess all alone and defenseless. You walked right into my trap in New York with the alchemist girl. Then you went running off to Connecticut after me—and got knocked out cold, by a human, nonetheless. All the while you thought you'd find me. I set you up, comrade. You were never going to find me in Connecticut. Just like you'll never find the others in Montana." What? An alarm went off in my head. "Don't you think it's strange that your car broke down right after you stopped for gas?" I hadn't thought about it, but I guess it was. "You can thank another one of my human friends for that too. He's going to love immortality as much as you will." She smirked. "And just a hint, Comrade. You can't always believe everything you dream." I still refused to speak a word.

"You're so quiet, comrade. I thought you'd be happy to see me." She ran a hand over my chest and dipped her face close to mine again. When her eyes gazed at me, I could see that they weren't her eyes, but the eyes of a monster. And it broke my heart. Still, I kept my face expressionless—I refused to show weakness. Internally, my mind raced for a plan. Both of my weapons were on the nightstand, and both my feet and hands were tied. If I made any sudden move, she could kill me in an instant. I had to survive this, in order to protect Lissa. If I died right now, then no one else would stand a chance. I had to find a way…

But my train of thought was distracted when Rose pressed her lips against mine. She kissed me hard, her lips forceful and determined. It wasn't anything like how she'd kissed me before, yet there was a hint of something familiar about it. For a fraction of a second, I lost my composure and found myself kissing her back. She pressed her body close against mine. I felt myself giving in to her touch. God, how I'd missed her…Roza…

_No!_ Something inside of me snapped and I froze instantly.

"What's the matter, comrade? Don't you want me?" Her voice—it sounded like her dhampir voice—filled with genuine hurt. _She is _not_ the person you knew! _The voice inside my head shouted at me. I had been taught this lesson a thousand times. But never—_never_ had I imagined how truly difficult it would be.

The moment was shattered by her haunting laugh, which brought me back to reality. The monster lying on top of me must be destroyed.

"You're adorable when you're nervous," she cooed. "It'll be a pity, when you're not a dhampir anymore." She leaned away from me slightly. "Just like it'll be a pity when I drain away all of Lissa's spirit power. Poor girl." It sickened me to hear Rose talk about Lissa that way. It was such a perversion of my Rose. Anger welled within me. But I kept my composure and listened to her speak. Maybe she'd say something that could be of use to me if I got away alive. "She's put up such a good fight. I almost feel sorry for her. But it's just too easy to steal her power through the bond." Rose chuckled. "Not only am I awakened—and trust me, it's amazing—but I also have _all_ this spirit power to play around with. Soon, I'll have you with me too, comrade. And then everything will be perfect." She sighed deeply. "I could just change you now," she ran a finger over my neck. "But where's the fun in that? It's much more entertaining to watch you struggle. I love how you actually think you can defeat me." She stood up from the bed and paced the room as she continued talking. "I'm probably the most powerful Strigoi on earth with Lissa's spirit powers and yet you still think you'll be able to kill me. Oh, you're good, Dimitri, but you aren't that good. Think about it. I came in here and tied you up before you ever even woke up. How do you think I did that?" I didn't answer her. Thankfully, she seemed to enjoy listening to herself talk. "I can't let you in on all of my secrets, comrade. That wouldn't be fair." When Rose was facing the opposite direction, pacing, I tested how well she'd bound my hands and feet, by trying to move. I certainly wasn't getting free easily.

"Don't you even think about trying to get away!" Rose barked—her voice was more like a growl.

What happened next was faster than a strike of lightening. Rose's fangs were in my neck. I struggled against her unsuccessfully, and I felt my consciousness fading away. My very last thoughts were the realization that I had gone down without even putting up a fight, and I had failed…

_A/N: Don't worry, this isn't the end of the story! There will be more. I couldn't resist stopping here though. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please read and review! _


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I woke up to sunlight shining through the window. I. Woke. Up. In daylight. I wasn't dead and I wasn't a Strigoi! I also quickly discovered that my arms and legs were no longer bound. Flooded with all the events of the night before, I reached up and touched my neck where Rose had bitten me. I felt nothing—no bite marks, no scabs. I stood and looked into a small mirror on the wall. My neck looked perfectly normal. But how? There was no way that what had happened the night before had been a dream. Rose had been here. I _knew_ it. She hadn't turned me. But why?

It didn't matter. What mattered was that I was still alive, which meant that I had another chance to save Lissa and destroy Rose. And this time, I wouldn't screw it up. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Rose had been right here—right in front of me. The only reason I was still here, living and breathing, is because she had chosen to leave me that way. I sighed. I was a better guardian than this. She never should have gotten away from me.

I thought back to the words Rose had spoken. How had she gotten into my room without waking me up? She said it was her secret. But she had also mentioned that she was stealing Lissa's powers. That was something we had all considered before, but now it was confirmed. Had she somehow compelled me to stay asleep while she snuck into my room? I supposed anything was possible. And the bite on my neck—had she healed it? I contemplated the possibility as I walked across the room to retrieve my luggage from its spot in the corner. That was when I spotted a note on the table. It was folded in thirds and simply addressed _Dimitri_. I opened it up.

_ It was so wonderful to finally see you in person, my love. I'm sorry I couldn't awaken you last night, but it would have been too easy. Darling, I want to see you fight. You're so sexy in combat. I want you to be mine, but it's so much fun to keep you chasing me. And your blood is more delicious than I ever could have imagined. You make a good little puppet, Dimitri—and so determined to protect your princess. I'd start backtracking if I were you. I'll be seeing you again soon enough, I suspect. And this time I do hope you'll put up a fight._

_All my love,_

_Roza_

_P.S. I fake a good Adrian spirit dream, don't I? Be careful what you believe, comrade. I'll be seeing you._

I kept rereading the note. This taunting, teasing tone she used—it was like Rose, and completely unlike Rose at the same time. I had a difficult time wrapping my mind around it. I sighed, frustrated with myself. I needed to quit thinking of her as a person and force myself to think of her as a monster—which she clearly was. This _Strigoi_ was slowly killing Lissa, she had claimed human lives—many of them—and she was trying to turn me into a Strigoi too. My Roza would have done anything to protect Lissa, and to protect me. She and this undead creature were polar opposites.

I wished, desperately, that I had never gotten to see her again—that she hadn't been so close to me. I wished that I hadn't had the chance to look at her face—at all the similarities. Her hair—her hair was still exactly the same, long and wildly beautiful. I shouldn't have had the time to notice all these details. She should have been staked the second I laid eyes on her, before I ever had the chance to give it a second thought.

But now, God, I knew what I had to do. I knew she was monstrous, and yet—this monster was the only remaining link to the woman I loved more than life itself. After it was destroyed, then nothing would remain. Rose would be gone from this world in every sense. _This is what she would have wanted_, I told myself, blinking back the tears that were forming in my eyes. _This is what she would have done for you if the roles were reversed. _

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I wished that it was me instead of her. I would do anything—_anything_—to give Roza her life back. But I would not wish for her to have to destroy me…if I were a Strigoi. I couldn't imagine putting her through this hell. If only we had both gotten out of that cave alive on the day of the attack! If only I could have gone back for her! In my heart I knew, these thoughts were toxic. There was no changing the past, and there was no use dwelling on it. I wiped my eyes and looked down at the note in my hands.

Two parts of it stood out to me. _I'd start backtracking if I were you_ and _I fake a good Adrian spirit dream, don't I? _So they weren't in Montana! Rose had tricked me, I was sure of it. When I had passed out from my concussion, she'd created the spirit dream with Adrian. She'd lured me the whole way out here on a false lead, just like she'd been doing all along. _I'd start backtracking…_ but where? I'd been so many places since this started. She could be headed for any of them. And if Adrian, Lissa and Christian weren't in Montana, then where were they?

I wished, for once, that I had a way to contact Adrian. I didn't have the ability to contact him through dreams, obviously. I could only be contacted by him, and I had no idea where he was or when he'd be sleeping—or if he'd even be trying to contact me, for that matter.

I got to thinking about the other spirit dreams I'd had with Adrian—or who I'd thought had been Adrian. How was I to know if they had been real? Had Adrian and the others really run away, or was it all just a trick made up by Rose? _I'd start backtracking… _maybe I should go back to the house where they had been staying, just to see if they were still there. Maybe they were still safe—and if so, then I would find Rose and destroy her. And if not—well then at least I would know for certain. I didn't have anything else to go on, and I was only a day's drive away from Pennsylvania. I had to pass through there to get back to any of the other places I had been, so I might as well check. I just had to be careful not to get caught by any of the other guardians. Or else I'd go to jail and no one would ever stop Rose.

For now, I had to worry about transportation. After a quick shower and change of clothes, I gathered up my things and checked out of the motel. The repair shop was right next door. When I went to ask about the car, they told me they couldn't find a thing wrong with it. I silently cursed Rose, but at least I didn't have to deal with a lengthy repair. Fifty dollars and ten minutes later, I was ready to hit the road.

Before I left, I decided to text Sydney.

**I encountered Rose last night. She showed up at my motel room. She got away though and she's headed back to the east coast somewhere. I am following. Hope everything's okay.**

Sydney didn't reply to me, which wasn't like her, but I didn't have time to worry about that now. I wanted to be on the road. I was Pennsylvania bound—right back where I'd started.

As I drove, I replayed the night before over in my mind. I still couldn't believe I was actually alive. Rose had me captured and defenseless. She could have killed me or turned me, or done anything she wanted with me for that matter, but she had let me go. She was cocky and overly confident, and I hoped that would be her downfall. She'd said herself that she was the most powerful Strigoi in the world. Who knew if that was actually true? Since she had Lissa's spirit power it very well might've been. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to try to stop her. I would defeat her or die trying. The next time I saw her there would be a fight.

My thoughts were so consumed that the miles on the road went by quickly. It was early evening when I crossed the border into Pennsylvania. I didn't have too much farther to go. Thankfully I knew the way to the house. But I didn't want to take the car the whole way, because the car engine would be a dead giveaway to the Strigoi or guardians—whichever I ended up finding there. So I decided I would park the car relatively far away and go the rest of the way by foot.

If the grounds were still protected by wards, then the Strigoi wouldn't have been able to cross. But Rose had befriended humans to do other things for her, so she easily could've gotten them to break the wards. We'd seen it done before. And if Adrian, Lissa and Christian had really run away, odds were that the guardians weren't still staying at the house, meaning that it could easily have been sitting vacant. Anything was possible.

I wanted the advantage of daylight when I went in—just in case. Who knew how many Strigoi Rose had lurking around? And there was only one of me. At least during the day, I knew that the Strigoi had to be confined to darkness. At night, they could've been anywhere.

I really, _really_ didn't want to deal with another cheap motel. The prospect of sleeping in the car seemed equally as unappealing—not to mention unsafe. I broke down and got a nice—although not lavish—hotel room at a place that was only about forty miles away from the house. I hoped for an uneventful night's rest to prepare myself for the next day. If I was even going to stand a chance defeating Rose, I would need all the rest I could get.

I hoped that perhaps I would have a spirit dream with Adrian—although I wasn't sure how I would tell if it was Adrian or Rose. As it turns out, it didn't matter. I had no dreams—spirit or otherwise. For once, it was a completely uneventful night. _The calm before the storm_, said a voice in my head. 

The next morning dawned, cold and clear. I left the hotel at sunrise. If Rose wanted a fight, then the battle was on.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_I'm rising up  
I've had enough  
I'm feeling invincible tonight  
I'm alive  
Take a look into my eyes_

_-Invincible by Adelita's Way_

The house appeared vacant. I was crouched in the woods, just outside of where the wards would've been. I hadn't seen any guardians. Although it was technically night time on a vampire schedule, there still would have been guards patrolling the perimeter of the property, just as they had been when I was staying there. But I saw no one. It was a bad sign. That meant that Vasilisa, Adrian and Christian had actually run away. I had held on to some faint glimmer of hope that they hadn't really left and that Rose had created that dream as well. Such was not my luck, apparently.

I cautiously crept towards the house, approaching the rear side. There was a large patch of bushes and I slipped into them, trying to peer through a window. Suddenly, I heard someone.

"Who's there?" a male voice shouted. I ducked down. It was a dhampir—it had to be—and probably a guardian. I stayed as still as possible and tried to get a look at who it was. I could just barely see onto the porch. The man was wearing guardian attire and facing the other direction. He looked familiar, and when he started to turn around my suspicions were confirmed. It was Emil!

I could only hope he wouldn't see me—but I knew better. He was a trained guardian. The likelihood that I would go unnoticed was slim to none. Sure enough, his eyes settled on the bushes. He walked down the steps towards me "You better come out of…" he paused for a second. "Belikov?" I slowly stood up. "You're alive?" He stared at me incredulously. "We thought she would have killed…" He stopped midsentence because I'd punched him out cold. I felt bad for injuring a guardian, but I couldn't have him letting the others know where I was. And he would be fine—I hadn't hit him hard enough to do any real damage.

Feeling guilty, I left him lying on the ground. I wondered if he'd been here alone. I made my way around the side of the house and to the front. There was a black Honda sitting in the driveway, which must've been Emil's. I was curious what he was doing out here—perhaps the same thing I was doing. Even if Adrian, Christian and Lissa weren't here, the guardians might've still been watching the house. I wished I could tell if the wards were broken.

The car was unlocked, so I climbed inside. Emil's laptop was sitting open on the passenger seat. When I moved the mouse, an open document appeared. There were dates listed, all of them three or four days apart. Each was followed by a brief set of notes on the state of the house.

I glanced through them. Most said things like _no evidence of activity _or _all appears secure. _But the most recent update, from yesterday, said something different. _Wards broken. No evidence of Strigoi on premises. All entry points to building still secure…_

So the wards were broken. Yesterday. I wondered, then, why Emil was out here alone. The royal court wouldn't have sent anyone out here if they knew Strigoi could be here. If they were sending guardians they would've sent a whole team—not just one. So what had Emil been doing? I wished I wouldn't have knocked him out, so that I could ask him.

I didn't look through anything else on his computer. I felt too guilty. Emil was a well-respected guardian, and whatever he was doing here, I was sure it was for the sake of trying to stop the Strigoi. Getting knocked out by me was definitely the lesser of two evils compared to what could've happened to him if there were Strigoi here now.

I wasn't sure if Emil had been inside the house. When I had seen him, he was on the wrap-around porch, so he might've just walked around from the other side. I wanted to enter the house, but knowing that the wards were broken, I had to be cautious. Strigoi could be inside. Rose could be inside. I thought through the floor plan. All of the rooms on the first floor had windows. Even with the heavy drapes there would still be too much light for a Strigoi. There were a few closets, but all of them were relatively small, and I couldn't imagine a Strigoi lurking in one of them all day long. The basement gym, however, was another story. Spacious and windowless, it would be an ideal Strigoi hideout.

I figured it couldn't hurt to investigate the house, as long as I avoided the basement. The front door, however, was locked. The back door was locked too, I soon learned. I was about to break a window, when I thought of Emil. He probably had a set of keys on him.

Stepping off the porch, I knelt down next to his body in the grass. He looked like he could've been sleeping.

"Sorry buddy," I whispered as I reached in his pocket. Sure enough, there was a key ring with about a dozen keys on it. The third one I tried worked.

The back door led to the kitchen. What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. It looked as though a hurricane had blown through. Cupboard doors were ripped open. Plates and glasses were shattered all over the floor. A knife was perched ominously on the edge of the counter coated in dried blood.

Panic set in. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I darted through the house, looking for anyone. The formal living room was also a wreck—floor lamps lying on their sides, potted plants toppled over on the floor, and more blood staining the once pristine white furniture. But there wasn't a soul in sight.

The rest of the first floor was disheveled—but not as badly. There didn't appear to be anyone here. I speedily checked the second floor. It looked untouched. Lastly, I knew I had to check the basement.

Armed with my stake in hand, I darted down the stairs. There was no time to be cautious. People could be in danger, or injured. But when I reached the bottom of the stairs I found… nothing.

The basement was empty, save the gym equipment, and eerily quiet. Whoever had been attacked here was gone—they'd either escaped or been captured. I wished for the former but suspected the latter.

I searched the basement more thoroughly, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I was about to go back upstairs when I spotted a folded piece of parchment resting on top of a set of free weights. It was another note from Rose.

_Hello my dearest Dimitri. It appears you've arrived too late. Nice try though. Maybe I'll reward you for your efforts. By the way, I have your princess and her little friends. Don't worry, they're safe—for now. You'll be thirsty when I awaken you, and I figured you might appreciate a little snack. Do hurry though. I won't wait forever. I look forward to seeing you again, darling._

_All my love,_

_Roza_

_P.S. The city never sleeps and neither do I…_

I swore in Russian and threw the note onto the ground. I started kicking the closest object I could find—which happened to be a treadmill—and continued shouting angrily. She had captured them! And here, of all places. Had they left and come back? Well, it didn't matter now—what did matter was rescuing them. _The city never sleeps… _She must have been taking them to New York!

I had to get to the city—as soon as possible! Emil's car keys were on the key ring I'd stolen from his pocket. I snatched the note back up, darted from the house, jumped in the car, and started to speed off.

An immediate pang of guilt hit me. I pulled back up to the house, jumped from the car, and ran to the back yard where Emil was still lying unconscious. I picked him up and carried him around to the driveway. I opened one of the back doors to the car and carefully placed him across the back seat. He stirred slightly, but didn't wake. I stomped on the gas pedal and tore out of the driveway like lightening.

Once I reached the interstate, I didn't drive slower than 90 mph. I didn't care what happened. My mind was only focused on one thing—getting to Lissa, Adrian and Christian before Rose killed them. I could not fail.

I peered at Emil in the rear view mirror. I wasn't sure what to do when he woke up. I could certainly use another guardian to help me out. But I didn't want him calling the other guardians too soon and preventing us from getting there in time. I had to be the one to handle this, and the other guardians probably wouldn't let me fight.

Fifteen minutes later, I saw Emil shift and stir. Blinking his eyes a few times, he sat up. I watched him in the rearview mirror.

"Belikov?" he asked. He seemed confused. There was no time for long-winded explanations. That could all be worked out later. They could do whatever they wanted with me. But for now, there was only one thing on my agenda.

"Yes. We're on our way to New York. The princess, Adrian and Christian were captured. By Rose."

"But—but you're not a guardian anymore. You abandoned us. Everyone thinks you're dead. Or Strigoi." Emil's glare was scrutinizing.

"Yes, I did leave. I'm sorry. But I was trying to find Rose to prevent this very thing from happening."

"You're wanted by the Moroi government for endangering Moroi royals," said Emil. "But what's important now is rescuing the Moroi." He paused a moment. "And you knocked me out earlier," he added indignantly.

"Sorry about that. I couldn't let you turn me in before I saw this mission through."

"I ought to call in back-up for us now," said Emil. "It's my duty to report that I've found you. Plus, you're no longer a guardian, so you shouldn't be handling this."

"I was the only one who actually went looking for Rose!" I snapped, feeling angry. "And I will finish this off. Without help." Emil ignored me and pulled out his cell phone. I was caught between paying attention to him and trying to drive. What I did next, I was incredibly ashamed of. But I couldn't let him call anyone. I pulled my gun from my pocket and pointed it at him.

"You will _not call anyone_," I insisted, using my coldest tone.

"Jesus Christ, Dimitri!" he exclaimed, shocked. "Alright, I won't call anyone." He dropped the cell phone and raised both of his hands. He looked at me like I was a crazy person. Maybe I was. I put the gun back down and focused by eyes on the road. I was most certainly not the calm, level-headed guardian I used to be. I'd thrown Rose's so-called Zen life lessons out the window. Regardless of whether I succeeded in this mission or failed, my life would no longer be worth living. And it was that knowledge that had slowly freed me from following the rules. I didn't fear consequences. Without Rose, things really couldn't get much worse.

"I don't expect you to help me," I told Emil after a minute, feeling guilty for dragging him into this. "I didn't want to leave you at the house passed out. You might've been in danger."

"Says the man who just pointed a gun in my face," commented Emil. "But if we're fighting to save the Moroi, then of course I am going to help." I could tell he was irritated, but he was incredibly calm given the situation. If someone had done to me what I'd done to him _they_ would probably be unconscious by this point. "I should tell you something, too," he added after a moment. "No one knew I was out at the house today. I came alone. When we discovered a few days ago that the wards were broken, the queen instructed everyone to stay away from the property. But I thought, if we are ever going to solve this mess, we should be paying attention to what the Strigoi are doing, not ignoring them. So I decided to go have a look around on my own. Needless to say, I didn't get very far."

"I really am sorry, Emil." He shrugged.

"I've had worse. We were both acting against orders. I assume you found something inside the house then?"

"There were obvious signs of a struggle. And a note from Rose saying that she'd captured the princess and the others and taken them to New York."

"Ever since those four got away, the queen has had us searching everywhere for them. But there's no trace of them to be found. They're smart kids."

"Smart kids with a lot of money," I added, thinking of Adrian. And Lissa too, for that matter. "But apparently they couldn't outsmart Rose. She has them now. I wonder why they came back to the house?"

"They were probably seeking the safety of the wards. They couldn't have gone anywhere else with wards without being seen. I'll bet something scared them and they came running back," Emil reasoned.

"But it was too late," I continued. "Rose must have gotten humans to break the wards. She's been getting humans to do things for her, and then changing them into Strigoi."

"I still don't understand why you don't want backup," Emil commented. "We have no idea what kind of situation we could be walking into." I knew he was right, but this was _my_ fight! Mine! This mess was my fault and I needed to fix it!

"Do I need threaten you again?" I growled, sounding angrier than I meant to. Emil looked taken aback.

"No." I could tell he was angry with me—and rightfully so. I thought about just dropping him off somewhere and telling him to get lost. But he was a guardian, and even if I wasn't following the rules, I knew he wasn't going to leave when there were Moroi lives at stake.

I was weaving through cars on the interstate, and making good time. I hoped it would be good enough. I knew I was playing right into Rose's game—but this was the way it had to happen. She and I, one on one. I had made this promise to her and I intended to keep it. It was the last thing I could do for her after I'd failed her so many times. And no one was going to destroy her except me.

"So, have you seen Rose?" asked Emil, after a few moments.

"Yes, I encountered her once. She got away." I didn't want to elaborate or tell the true story.

"You two were close. It must be difficult for you." I was surprised by Emil's sympathy. I simultaneously hoped that he didn't somehow know exactly _how_ close Rose and I had been.

"Mmm hmm," I mumbled in agreement.

"I would have thought you'd rather have someone else take care of this. It's always more difficult when they're someone you used to know."

"She's _not_ who I used to know," I stated with more certainty than I truly felt. "Besides, we had a discussion once—that we'd both rather be dead than exist as Strigoi. I know this is what she would want."

"You could still get someone else to do it—or at least to help. If you fail, then she'll continue on and kill even more people."

"I won't fail. I taught her everything she knows about fighting. I'm probably the only one who _can_ do this." _And I loved her. And I already failed her too many times. _

"Overconfident," I heard Emil mutter under his breath.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," I retorted. "But at least three Moroi teenagers didn't escape on my watch." That was low, and I knew it. I was being an asshole—but this conversation was too mentally exhausting for me.

"If you need to be reminded, _Mr_. Belikov, you didn't give them the chance to escape on your watch because _you ran away first_." At that point, I would've loved to sock Emil in the face again. But since I was driving a car, that wasn't a possibility. So instead I reached over, cranked up the radio full blast, and smashed the accelerator to the floor.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered what had happened to the person I used to be—calm, collected, sane. But if there was one thing I had learned from Rose when she was a dhampir, it was that you didn't always win playing by the rules. Sometimes, you had to fight fire with fire.

And me, well, I was an inferno.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

_**A/N: Well, here it is—the fight you guys have been asking for. This chapter was a lot of fun and I hope you like it. Don't worry, it's not the end, yet. But we're getting close. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate it so much! Enjoy the chapter, and please review! **___

_In the end  
As my soul's laid to rest  
What is left of my body  
Or am I just a shell?  
And I have fought  
And with flesh and blood I commanded an army  
Through it all I have given my home for a moment of glory  
In the end  
As you fade into the night  
Who will tell the story of your life?  
And who will remember your last goodbye?  
Cause it's the end and I'm not afraid  
I'm not afraid to die._

_-In the End by Black Veil Brides_

When I found my way into Brooklyn, I knew exactly where I had to go—the warehouse where I'd rescued Sydney. Rose had said to backtrack. I was sure that was where she'd taken them.

The late afternoon sun was high in the sky. I knew there were precious few hours of daylight left, but this couldn't be postponed until tomorrow. Soon, the ominous, yellowing facade loomed in front of us. I could feel the tension in the air, thick and heavy.

I made sure I was fully armed. Emil did the same.

"You don't have to come with me," I told him one final time. I couldn't help but feel that I might be leading a perfectly good guardian into a deathtrap. He looked up at me.

"Belikov, I'm not sure what you're up to, and I don't agree with a lot of your recent decisions. But you've been one hell of a guardian in the past, and, well… I trust your judgment. I can't say you've handled things the way I would have, but I have faith that you're doing things the way you feel you need to." He paused a moment. "Besides, _they come first_."

"_They come first_," I repeated, drawing in a deep breath. "Let's do this." I explained the interior of the building to Emil—the broken window where we could enter, the precise location of the stairway leading to the underground room, and the space behind the stairs where the Strigoi had hidden last time.

Unfortunately, we wouldn't have the element of surprise. But it's rare to get that with Strigoi anyway. We did have the advantage of daylight—for a little while at least. The Strigoi couldn't come up to the main floor. The stairwell was narrow, which meant that Emil and I would have to go one at a time.

"I'll go first," I told him

"I think I should go first," Emil insisted. "I'm sure Rose has at least several other Strigoi with her. If I can take them out, then you'll have a better chance of getting a straight shot at her." He was right, technically. His plan made sense. But I hated that I'd even brought him here. I'd hate myself more if I let him go first and something happened to him. I could tell Emil saw the look of indecision on my face.

"Listen to me, I want to do this. Anything that happens to me is a result of my own choices." I nodded at him.

"Alright then. You go first."

"One more thing," said Emil, opening the trunk of the car. He lifted the lid of a black case. "It never hurts to have a spare." He handed me another stake, and pulled out yet another for himself. "And these might help if she's got them tied up." He pulled out two pocket knives, handing one to me.

"Good thinking."

We headed for the broken window in silence, climbing through one by one. Everything looked just like I had remembered it. I pointed Emil in the direction of the trap door, which was shut. He gave me a determined look, swung the door open, and dove forward, wielding his stake.

I followed immediately, but I still heard the fighting before I saw it. Four Strigoi were on Emil. I reached the bottom of the stairs just as he drove his stake through the heart of one of them. I moved immediately on another. I took a shot and missed. Another was coming at me behind my back. I swung back and bashed it forcefully in the face. It wouldn't do any damage, but it might buy me a few seconds. I took another shot at the Strigoi in front of me. Only as my stake sank into his chest did I recognize him as Curtis—the once human feeder that had gone with Lissa, Christian and Adrian. Without missing a beat, I ripped the stake back out and turned to the other Strigoi.

This one was a female, and shorter. But she was fast. I missed her the first time. The second time I stabbed her, but missed her heart. She let out a piercing cry and faltered for a second. It was all I needed. I plunged the stake through her heart and pulled it back out in one swift motion, leaving her body to crumple to the ground.

Emil was still fighting the other Strigoi. I made a move to help him, but as I did, three more Strigoi appeared. One started to grip my neck from behind me, but I swung my stake back with as much force as I could and it plunged into his stomach, forcing him to let go of me. That was close. In one fluid motion, I spun around and got a direct shot at his heart.

Taking a brief glance around, I saw that Emil had taken out one of the Strigoi and was now battling another. The other Strigoi—a female—came at me. I wasn't prepared to strike her, so I used my body weight to force her backwards. She was tiny enough that I was able to manage it. She fell into a wall, hitting her head. She only paused for a fraction of a second, but that was all the time I needed. My stake was through her heart before she ever got to her feet again.

Emil was still fighting, so I made a move to help him. Somewhere in the distance, I heard her voice.

"Oh, comrade, I see you've arrived," Rose cooed. Her laugh echoed through the room. She wouldn't make me lose focus. Emil and I moved on the last Strigoi together. I distracted it, and Emil sunk his stake through its heart.

I never expected what happened next. A Strigoi dropped down from the ceiling and landed directly on Emil. Before my mind even registered what had happened, my body had lunged forward at them, knocking them both onto the ground. Emil's head smashed into the floor. He didn't move after that. The Strigoi immediately dove for me. I shifted out of the way, but as I swung my legs around, the Strigoi grabbed my right foot. I got out of his grip, but as I did, I heard a sickening crack and a terrible wave of pain shot through my right leg.

Ignoring the pain, I got to my feet anyway. The Strigoi came at me again. I miscalculated his movements and only grazed his arm with my stake, while he landed a harsh blow to my head. I blinked as my vision started to fade. This Strigoi wasn't a human who had just been turned. His height meant that he'd been a Moroi, and his fighting skills told me that he wasn't new to this. With my head and foot throbbing, I continued on. He blocked my strikes, again and again. Somewhere in the madness, I heard Rose's chilling laugh.

"Don't worry, Dimitri. He won't kill you. You're going to be mine." The sound of her voice angered me, and I felt a surge rush through my body that dulled the pain. I fought harder—moved faster. After three more tries, I drove the stake through the Strigoi's heart. Pulling it out, I turned and got my first good look around the rest of the room.

Rose stood tall, facing me—her red eyes penetrated mine, her blood-colored lips twisted into a slight smirk. Her hair was tied back into a high bun and she was dressed simply, in black—not a lavish gown like she'd worn every time I'd seen her recently. Her arms were folded across her chest. She looked… ready for a fight.

I would have made a move for her—except—surrounding her in a circle were four chairs, each with one of her captives bound to them.

Lissa looked sickly—thinner than I'd ever seen her, which was saying a lot. Her skin was so pale it could have rivaled Rose's. Her hair looked matted and tangled, and the dark circles under her eyes seemed to consume her whole face. Still, I saw her eyes brighten slightly at the sight of me. I was their last hope.

Christian was on another chair. He didn't look conscious. There were purple bruises on his arms and face, and a dark trickle of dried blood was pasted to his neck. Upon closer examination, I could tell that his eyes were slightly open. He was awake—but barely.

Adrian looked more coherent than the other two. His green eyes darted around frantically. He looked exhausted, but not weak or sick. I couldn't see any bite marks on his neck.

The fourth chair was facing completely away from me, but the person occupying it was a girl. I recognized her hair first… then it dawned on me. Sydney! I recalled the text message that I'd never gotten a response to. This was why.

Keeping my eyes on Rose, I shifted my position to get a better look at Sydney. She looked okay—just tired. Her brown eyes held a mixture of fear and disgust. I saw a trail of dried blood down her neck, too. It angered me. If it weren't for me she wouldn't be here—for the second time.

None of them were gagged, but they didn't speak—whether from exhaustion or fear, I didn't know. I made a mental note of the knife that was tucked into my pocket, and started trying to formulate a plan. I needed one—quickly. I could stall Rose for a while with idle chatter, but not forever.

I should have attacked her the minute I saw her. But since she had placed herself in the center of all the Moroi, that wasn't a safe move. Ideally, now, I'd have liked to get the Moroi to safety before the real fight began. But that wasn't going to be easy to do.

Emil was still out cold on the ground. I prayed that he wasn't dead. Rose simply watched me drink in my surroundings. Then she laughed.

"There's no way out, is there, comrade? Not if you want to save your poor little friends. Are you ready to meet immortality?"

"Not tonight, Rose," I replied simply.

"But it's glorious, Dimitri. You've never seen the world like this—never felt the amazing power. We can be together forever this way. Eternity, Dimitri. You said you loved me." Those words cut deep. _It's not her. It's not Roza._

"My mortal lifetime will be enough for me."

"Fine then. I wanted to give you the choice, Dimitri. But I'm afraid you're making the wrong one. So I guess I'll just have to make it for you. But why rush the inevitable? After all, I've got all the time in the world." She cackled. Then she leaned down, very close to the side of Christian's face. "And I _am_ getting thirsty again. What do you say, Ozera? You could continue the family legacy. Your mother and father would be so proud of…"

"Stop!" Lissa shrieked. Her voice was hoarse and gravelly—like this wasn't the first time she'd been yelling.

"Oh, what's that? Do I hear a protest?" Rose's eyes gleamed. "If it isn't little Dragomir princess—the _last_ Dragomir." Rose stepped around Lissa's chair so she was facing her, and leaned down to her eye level. Lissa looked petrified. "Just imagine what a Strigoi you'd make. Then your family name could live on forever." Adrian was staring at the two of them, his eyebrows arched in interest. I wondered what he could see that I didn't.

"What do you say, Liss? Friends forever, right? We're going to kill you anyway. Better being undead than dead. You might even like it." I couldn't let her keep taunting Lissa this way. I was, after all, her guardian.

"No!"

"I'll do it." Lissa and I spoke in unison.

"What?" I gasped. "Lissa, you can't!" What was she doing to herself?

"Dimitri, you heard the girl. She wants this," interrupted Rose. "And guardians are supposed to let their Moroi have what they want. _They come first_, remember? Snack time." And Rose's fangs sunk into Lissa's neck.

I watched in horror, ready to lunge forward. Lissa's initial disgust faded and she gave me a very pointed look. A look that screamed, _do something_. A second later, I realized why. Rose began sputtering and coughing. She pulled away from Lissa, gagging and grasping her throat.

"Spirit," Lissa mouthed to me. I didn't waste a second. I sprung forward. I should've gone directly for Rose, but I didn't. This was probably the only chance I'd get to free the Moroi, and I had to try.

Whipping the knife from my pocket, I started cutting through the ropes that bound Adrian's hands. Rose was still too incapacitated to notice. I wasn't sure how long the spirit in Lissa's blood would sicken her—but I had a feeling it wouldn't be long. His hands were nearly free when I saw Rose beginning to recover from her coughing fit. I just needed ten more seconds—but I wasn't going to get it.

I was distracted by a crash. Sydney had rocked herself and toppled over her chair, drawing Rose's attention in the opposite direction. She winked at me, indicating that she'd noticed my dilemma. That second, I got Adrian's hands free and pressed the handle of the knife into them, before turning back on Rose. I prayed that Adrian would get the others freed while I fought her.

She'd recovered from Lissa's blood, and was glaring at Sydney as she flung her chair back upright. Sydney looked frozen in horror.

"So now a human thinks she can outsmart me, huh? Clever little alchemist. You're lucky your blood tastes like dirt. I'll let your dear friend Dimitri have you for a snack later. He'll be too thirsty to notice." She sneered.

I made my move at Rose, lunging towards her. I immediately darted backward, luring her away from the Moroi. She followed.

"Aww, you want to fight now, Dimitri? Remember, you taught me everything I know." I took a swing at her. She dodged me. Pain radiated through my leg. I pressed on, taking shot after shot at her. But she was fast. As dhampirs we'd been evenly paired. Now, she was easily one of—if not the best—Strigoi I'd ever gone up against. But that wasn't going to stop me. I kept sparring, noting that Adrian had now freed Sydney, who had fled to the far side of the room. Why didn't she go up the stairs? Rose kept taking shots at my face, but I could anticipate her every move. Unfortunately, she could do the same for me.

Adrian was working on Lissa. One of her hands were free and she was trying to untie her own foot. _Keep Rose occupied_, I thought. I ran back to the wall, springing off of it and lunging myself at her. She dodged me, but I did manage to graze her arm. Unfortunately, I landed hard on my right leg. For a fraction of a second, we both winced at our injuries—but both of our hesitations were short-lived.

"I could break your neck in an instant, if I wanted to." Rose informed me, aiming a kick at my stomach. She laughed. "So the student surpasses the teacher." That statement angered me. I forced myself to concentrate, and took a shot at her again. Missed. I had never seen a Strigoi move so quickly. She was like a blur around me. Adrian was getting Christian freed. Lissa stood with Sydney, who had her arm around her for support.

It was at that second when Rose noticed Adrian freeing Christian. And in her distraction, she gave me the perfect shot. It was there. _Take it! _I plunged my stake forward, aiming directly at her heart.

I'd hesitated… and it had cost me. The stake didn't go in far enough, and it clamored to the ground. Rose didn't miss a beat, and I watched as the wound on her chest healed—faster than I'd ever seen a Strigoi wound heal. It was gone almost instantly. It certainly hadn't slowed her down at all—but it had caught me off-guard.

Rose got near enough to me to press her hand against my arm—and when she did, all the pain from my leg and my head was amplified. I might've cried out in agony—I couldn't tell. My vision was gone—there was nothing but blinding white pain. And I felt my body hit the ground.

"Nice try comrade," I heard words from somewhere in the distance. Slowly, my vision returned and I saw her leaning over me. "You put up a good fight. But I always win." This was it. This was how I would die. At least I saw that the others had all gotten free.

"Go!" I mouthed to them—my last wish being to see them get out of there safely. But they weren't moving.

"Get ready to be awakened, my love," Rose whispered, and I felt her fangs sink into my neck. The rush of endorphins began to numb the blinding pain, and I remembered the spare stake that I still had tucked into my jacket. Could I really…?

Rose was so distracted from drinking my blood, that she didn't notice when I shifted underneath her. The stake was in my right hand, but I was fading fast. The endorphins were overwhelming. I'd only get one shot at this. But I had to try.

I knew I was capable of piercing her heart from this angle, but it was not an easy shot. I would need all the force I could muster, and I was running out of time. I leaned forward slightly, pretending to enjoy the feeling of Rose drinking from my neck. I pulled my right arm back as far as I could, took aim, and thrust the stake forward with all the strength I had left in me. It pierced her heart—I felt it go. And my upper body collapsed back onto the ground, incapable of another movement. I had done it. At least I could die knowing I'd defeated her. I'd fulfilled her wish.

I heard a scream, and the sound of running feet. I felt the weight of Rose's body being shifted off of me. My eyes fluttered open, just long enough to see a pair of bright green eyes staring down at me. Then, the whole world went black…


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

_**A/N: This is the last full chapter… but there is an epilogue that I will post soon, along with info about a sequel I am planning to write. Hope you like the chapter! Please read and review! **___

When I opened my eyes, I found the same green ones staring back at me.

"He's awake!" called Adrian. I shifted my glance around the room. If this was hell, then hell looked an awful lot like a hospital. To my surprise, Sydney came walking through the door.

"Hi, Dimitri," she said brightly. There was no longer any evidence of a bite on her neck, and she wore a smile on her face. "How are you feeling?" I assessed myself for a few seconds, shifting on the hospital bed. Nothing really hurt—at all.

"Fine, actually," I replied, wondering how that was possible. "When can I get out of here?"

"Well, first off, you're welcome," said Adrian, smirking smugly. I remembered the green eyes I'd seen just before I'd passed out.

"You..?" Adrian nodded.

"I healed you. Contrary to popular belief, I can be good for a thing or two every once in a while." I didn't even have any idea what to say.

"Th—thank you." I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to be alive, but I had to appreciate the gesture, right?

"Don't mention it. You lost so much blood—they said there was no way you would have made it if I hadn't healed you right away. I still can't believe you did it-you staked her. That was amazing—we thought you were a goner." I wasn't sure what to say to that.

"They said you can leave tomorrow, but they want to keep you overnight just in case," said Sydney, answering my earlier question. As more memories came back to me, questions kept forming in my head.

"Where are Lissa and Christian?" I asked. "Are they okay?"

"They're both fine," Adrian assured me. "I healed up Christian. Lissa's hospitalized overnight too because she's still pretty weak from everything she's been dealing with—plus with healing Rose—but they said she ought to be fine after a day..." Had I heard him correctly?

"_Healing_ Rose?" I asked. Sydney and Adrian exchanged glances.

"Well, Lissa wanted to be the one to tell you, but yes. She healed Rose. You should have seen their auras. It was like the fucking aurora borealis or something. Oh, and Lissa, Christian and Sage figured out that you and Rose are a thing. I couldn't really help that. But no one else knows."

"So Rose is…?"

"A dhampir again," finished Sydney.

"But how…?"

"After you staked Rose, Lissa started screaming. She pulled Rose off of you, took the stake out of her chest, and started healing her—just the same as she would heal anyone. I guess it worked because of their bond. We actually didn't want her to do it, because we were scared of what might happen. But I was too busy healing you to stop her. Christian was practically passed out, and Sage here was too scared to do anything."

"I was not!" said Sydney indignantly. "I didn't know what was going on!"

"You all were amazing in there," I told them with complete honesty. "Sydney, if you hadn't knocked yourself over on your chair, I never would have gotten Adrian's hands freed. And Adrian, you were great at getting everyone else untied. But I still can't believe that Lissa actually asked Rose to bite her. How did she know that would work?"

"I didn't." A voice came from the doorway. "I just had a feeling it would. And it was a chance I had to take." Lissa stepped into the room wearing a hospital gown, followed closely by Christian.

"That's—wow—Lissa …" I didn't know what to say. Once again I found that Rose and Lissa were more similar than I had realized.

"Crazy?" Christian offered, but he was smiling at her as he said it.

"Maybe, but aren't we all a little?" asked Lissa.

"I think we have to be," I said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Is Emil okay?" I wondered out loud.

"He's fine," said Christian. "Adrian healed him after he healed you. He just had a concussion. He's the one who called for help for us."

Reality was slowly sinking in for me. Everyone was okay. They were all alive. I was alive. Rose was alive again. Rose…

"Where's Rose?" I demanded suddenly. "When can I see her?"

"You told?" Lissa looked at Adrian disappointedly.

"Sorry."

"Well, Dimitri, they're keeping her locked up for right now," Lissa told me. "Because they're scared she might still be dangerous. She's not—well, not any more dangerous than Rose ever is—" Christian and Adrian laughed. "But… well, there's never been any documented case of someone being turned _back_ into a dhampir from a Strigoi, so people are skeptical. She's been out in sunlight and everything though. She's really fine. Physically anyway. She didn't want to be around people. I think she's pretty upset." I didn't care about any of that.

"When can I see her?" I repeated.

"Umm, we don't know, exactly," Lissa continued. "Dimitri, Adrian and I are working on fixing it… but until we do… well, you're going to jail when you get out of the hospital." I sighed.

"For endangering Moroi?" I asked.

"Yep," Adrian answered. "But don't worry. I'll convince Aunt Tatiana to get you out. It just might take me a couple of days." I wondered why Adrian was being so nice to me. He seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

"Okay, but when I get out, then I can see Rose, right?"

"We'll do what we can," said Lissa. "I don't think they're going to let you be a guardian anymore though." I'd known that was coming too.

"I figured as much," I replied. "But I had to do what I had to do."

"It's not fair though," said Lissa. "You're an excellent guardian, and the only reason you left me was to try to prevent me from being in a greater danger. Plus, it wasn't as though you left me all alone. I was more than adequately guarded after you left. Well—until we decided to run away." Her eyes shifted to the ground, ashamed.

"We'll worry about all of that later," I said. "My more immediate concern is seeing Rose."

"Speaking of that, I can't believe neither of you ever told me you were together!" Lissa chastised. "Especially Rose! I wouldn't have told anyone. I think it's adorable. Dimitri, you're perfect for her! It makes me so happy! Rose deserves someone good in her life." The smile on her face was infectious. Soon I felt myself smile too.

"Yes, it's just so precious." Christian mocked Lissa, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes. He earned himself a light punch in the arm. Adrian rolled his eyes, glancing at Sydney, who offered him a small smirk in response.

"Well, that's very kind of you, Lissa. But Rose and I do have to be really careful about who knows, or else we'd both be in a lot of trouble."

"She has so much to tell me, whenever she feels like talking again." Lissa couldn't hide her happiness. "We'll find a way to get you in to see her, Dimitri."

"It won't be that hard, Liss," said Adrian, with a quick raise of his eyebrows.

"Oh, well yeah, there's that." They didn't need to tell me they were talking about compulsion. And since I wasn't their guardian anymore, I didn't care if they used it or not. Truth be told, I should have yelled at them all for using compulsion to run off from the house—but I didn't do that either. I was just grateful that, by some miracle, everyone was okay.

They left me shortly thereafter so that I could get some sleep. Christian was going to stay in Lissa's hospital room for the night, and Adrian was going to drive Sydney home. Those two were an odd pair, but there seemed to be some sort of chemistry there—a Moroi and an alchemist. But who was I to judge? The rest of us were being escorted to the royal court the next morning. The guardians Emil had called had already transported Rose there. He went with them—apparently after assuring Lissa that he wouldn't let them do anything to hurt her. I'd have to thank Emil for everything one day—if I ever saw him again.

After they'd all left, I stayed awake, unable to fall asleep. Rose was alive. Rose. Was. Alive! I didn't care what else happened. Let them throw me in jail! Let them take my job away! Rose had her life back and that was more important to me than anything in the world.

Lissa…was amazing. If it hadn't been for her, everything would have turned out differently. It was quite possible that none of us would be alive today. Rose would have taken the same risks for her, I realized. I loved Rose more than anyone on earth, but she and Lissa shared a love that had an incredible amount of power. Lissa's spirit magic and the level of compassion she showed—towards everyone—made her incredible.

The only thing that could have made the day better was if I could have seen Rose. God, I couldn't wait to see her again—my beautiful Roza. To hold her again, kiss her again. I would never, ever let anything happen to her. I couldn't imagine what sort of emotional turmoil she must've been sorting through, and I wanted to be there to make it all okay, to tell her that none of it mattered—to tell her that I loved her more than life itself—which I now knew for a fact was true. Maybe we would get to have a happily ever after, after all.

Life was weird sometimes. Things never turned out quite the way you might expect. I never would have guessed that Strigoi could be brought back from the dead, that alchemists would befriend Moroi, or that Adrian Ivashkov would save my life. But sometimes you've just got to expect the unexpected, be prepared for anything, trust your instincts—and your friends, and believe that it will all work out in the end.


	24. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

_**Why give me hope, then give me up... just to be the death of me  
Save the rest of me...  
Cuz I see you, but I can't feel you anymore - so go away  
I need you, but I can't need you anymore - you hesitate  
Now... now and then, you come around, like there's something left for me  
We were one... we were everything  
I'm still here... but I'll just keep the rest of me**_

_**-Hesitate by Stone Sour**_

_ No one was sitting next to me on the airplane, for which I was grateful. I wasn't in the mood for talking. I stared out across the airport as we waited for takeoff. They'd taken my weapons from me. I wouldn't need them where I was going anyway. _

_ It had been three weeks to the day since the battle at the warehouse. After the hospital, I had been placed in jail at the court. But, true to his word, Adrian got my charges dropped after a few days. However, I was stripped of my guardian title. For abandoning my Moroi I was never allowed to serve as a sanctioned guardian again. _

_ After they'd given me the news, Lissa came to me, crying. She'd wanted me to be able to continue guarding her when she went back to school. I wished that I could have been there for her, but I couldn't change the royal council's decision. _

_ As promised, Lissa and Adrian had taken me to see Rose. They had been moving her back and forth between the court's hospital for various tests and a prison cell where they kept her in case she was dangerous. When I visited, she was in prison. Looking into her cell, I saw her sitting there—alive—just staring at the floor. She wore a white prison uniform, like the one they'd made me wear, and her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. The sight caused me immense pain. It wasn't fair for them to keep her locked up like this! She shouldn't have had to be a prisoner!_

_ I stood and just watched her for several minutes. She wouldn't look up at me. Lissa had warned me to be gentle with her. _

_ "She never wants to talk to anyone," Lissa said. "Usually after a few minutes she starts screaming at me to get away from her before she screws up and kills me. I think she wants to stay in the jail cell. She's afraid she'll hurt people."_

_ After several minutes of my watching, Rose finally looked up. It relieved my soul to see that her eyes were their normal, deep brown, no matter how troubled they looked._

_ "Are you going to stare all day?" she snapped._

_ "I just wanted to see you," I said gently._

_ "Yeah, well I don't want to see you. Or anyone."_

_ "Roza," I breathed. "I just wanted…"_

_ "Don't!" she barked so loudly that it caught me off guard. "Don't call me that!" I stared at her. Her coldness stung like a slap in the face. _

_ "Why not?" I asked quietly, fearful of her answer._

_ "I don't want you to talk to me like that," she replied. "I don't want you to talk to me at all! Just go away!"_

_ "Please, Rose, don't do this. Don't do this to us. I love you."_

_ "You can't love me! Because I don't love you!" _

_ "Rose, you don't mean that."_

_ "Yes! I do mean it!" she jumped to her feet and stormed to face me at the window of her cell. Her eyes were like ice as she stared into mine. "I do _not_ love you anymore, Dimitri. Don't come back here ever again." I felt tears forming in my eyes. I knew she had a lot to deal with, but how could she be breaking my heart like this?_

_ "I will always love you, Roza," I said, my voice barely above a whisper._

_ "Get out. Get out!" Rose started shrieking. "Get away from me! Go! Go away! I don't ever want to see you again!" Her screams echoed over and over again in my head as I turned and walked away._

_ Lissa tried to comfort me—saying that Rose treated everyone that way. But I didn't find any comfort in her words. I wasn't 'everyone'. Rose and I were soul-mates. Or I had thought we were. I understood her shutting the rest of the world out, but me? Lissa—ever the optimist—begged me to give Rose a little more time. She would come around eventually._

_ Well, three weeks was all I could take. My heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest and smashed to pieces. I had thought that losing the person I loved most was the most difficult challenge I'd ever faced. As it turned out, I was wrong. What was infinitely more painful was having the girl I loved more than anything on earth stand right in front of me, alive and well, and declare that she didn't love me anymore. _

_Without Rose, there was nothing to stick around for. My career was over. My colleagues had lost all respect for me. I would never have a job again. I couldn't go back to the academy and I couldn't stay at the royal court—which is why I had bought a one way ticket on this redeye flight. To Moscow. _

_ I was going home._

_**A/N: And that's how it ends. Poor Dimitri. Don't get too sad though. I've already started planning a sequel! It's called Exiled and will be written from Rose's POV. It'll pick up right where this left off. If you liked this story or you want to find out what happens next, follow me or keep your eyes open for it. The first chapter should be coming in the next week or so! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I am sad to see it end! **_

_**Lots of love to everyone who read and reviewed throughout this story… you guys are awesome! Thanks so much to all of you for your kind words and support!**_

_**LeftyGeek**_

_**P.S. If there's anything that you feel was left open-ended, it's probably going to be addressed in the sequel! Also, I might make part of the sequel be from Dimitri's POV, but I haven't worked out the details yet…**_

_**Please review and let me know what you thought of the ending! Thanks again!**_


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